If there is something that makes someone smile, be open enough to learn about it. It might be the thing that comes to make you smile.
A funny thing happened on my safari in Kenya. I was introduced to the world of Birding. Clearly, I was unaware of how serious the sport of Birding was, because there were a few people on our trip who were more interested in seeing the birds than they were in seeing real (as I call them) animals. There were quite a few older people (75 and up) on the trip. One in particular was a fanatic Birder. Somehow I kept ending up in the same jeep as her which meant we had to stop and look at every single bird that we saw. You can imagine that there were thousands of birds and you can picture the look on my face everytime we had to stop to look at one. At one point, I was so fed up I wanted to scream, “F@*k the birds, I want to see some cats!”. Luckily, I was raised better than that and kept my thoughts to myself. Eventually, I realized I was fighting a losing battle and decided that if I couldn’t beat ’em, I’d join ’em. So I started actually looking at the birds with the binoculars each time we stopped and grew to appreciate the birds. Some were pretty extraordinary and began to really enjoy it. I had to laugh at myself when one time I actually blurted out, “Stop! There’s a interesting looking bird”. Nancy (the Birder) couldn’t have been more thrilled that I was now enjoying birding. I started talking to her about her love for birding and learned that it brought her so much joy that she has traveled to many countries on birding trips. This is a woman who had lost her husband a few years ago, but always had a smile on her face. I then thought that I wish I could find something that made me as happy as birding made her. Well, I’m not officially a Birder, but I do appreciate the sport thanks to Nancy. The lesson learned from this experience is: if there is something that makes someone smile, be open enough to learn about it. It might be the thing that comes to make you smile.
Here’s a pic of the lilac-breasted roller which was one of my favorites and one of the most beautiful we saw.