Choosing to Love a Vulture.

I was in 2nd grade when my teacher asked what my favorite animal was.  It was one of those frequent "sharing moments"  so common in elementary school.  Because my last name started with a W, I was the last student to speak.

I was a smart-alecky kid.  And even at that tender age, a non-conformist who knew the value of shock.

So following a earnest little-kid chorus of puppies, kitties and turtles, I blurted out that I liked vultures.  I briefly considered declaring my love for pandas--which was real and lasted for
years--but I liked the subversiveness of the carrion eater. 

Never mind that I had never seen one. 

My young female teacher went slack-jawed.  Thirty heads turned, bug-eyed, to gape at me.  There was giggling, whispering and then silence.  I was given a chance to reconsider my apparently inappropriate declaration.

But I remained firm in my selection.  A vulture wasn't cute or cuddly or popular.  I knew something about that as an awkward eight-year old.

"Yes," I repeated, "I like vultures." 

This week, I thought of the maligned vulture. Native American culture celebrates animals of all kinds as totems, so I Googled the symbolism of these birds.

Turns out they are much more than nature's flesh-eating housekeepers.

Vultures are revered for their patience, resourcefulness and economy of movement, among other positive traits.  Read for yourself at:  http://www.whats-your-sign.com/bird-meaning-vulture.html.

So in the spirit of the season, consider your own lenses.  Then rethink it.  Applaud those with unconventional thoughts.  And the courage to express those thoughts.

As we enter both a New Year and a New Decade, I am mulling over how I can apply vulture wisdom to my life.  Especially to the misunderstood among us.

Happy holidays to you and yours.