I have to admit I am TERRIFIED of birds – the bigger, the scarier they are and the more terrified I become!
So, you can imagine my horror last weekend… while out for a lovely leisurely walk along the beachfront in Hastings, I am attacked (yes, literally a-t-t-a-c-k-e-d) by a flock of seagulls.
It happens just as I’m crossing the road to go through the car park and onto the beach, having just that second treated myself to a double honeycomb & peanut butter ice cream.
Talk about brass balls
Talk about seizing the moment
Talk about being brave
And bold
And ballsy
And taking a chance (on me)
Jeez, these birds had nerves of steel
And clearly, no conscience whatsoever
In they came, from behind, and s-w-o-o-s-s-s-s-h…. my ice cream was whipped out my hand in a flash!
Less than 30 seconds since I’d purchased it, there they were, partying on their pickings with their mates all flocking to see what they could grab too
It took another few minutes for me to recover from the hysteria of having been attacked by a flock of seagulls, although David had been in another kind of hysteria during this time. And for those of you who know him well, you know EXACTLY what type of hysteria HE was in, while I was almost catatonic against the car!
So we return to the ice cream parlour – and the lovely lady who’d only just re-opened that weekend after 12 weeks of lockdown, looks at us with a cheeky grin on her face “Oh dear, did they get you too?”
It’s clearly a regular thing and she’s not complaining, because those seagulls must be her best sales reps right now – and she needs all the help she can get with her takings, having been closed for the last few months!
The ice cream is scrumptious, so who wouldn’t return to start all over again when those sneaky wotsits steal your purchase!?
Apparently, it’s a common crime along Hastings seafront in the normal busy summer months and I guess the shop owner was as pleased as the seagulls that day – her takings definitely would’ve been up on that particular Sunday
It did get me thinking though, about the brilliant Abraham Maslow quote “We have two options in life – to step forward into growth or step back into safety”
You can’t argue that those seagulls sure know how to take a chance.
They absolutely get that old saying “if it’s to be, it’s up to me”
They definitely appreciate that you cannot reach new horizons until you’re prepared to lose sight of the shore
They know they cannot grow unless and until, they make a move forward – with courage and gusto.
They understand that if they’re not taking that step into growth, then they’re either standing still or moving backwards – and neither of these positions are synergetic with success.
Now I’m not suggesting for a moment that you act like those seagulls. I mean, you’d be a pretty mean, nasty person if you behaved as badly as they did, right?
What I am recommending however, is that we all take a good look at life this week and decide what chances WE can take to help us step into a brighter future.
What can we do to stretch ourselves outside our comfort zone this week?
How might we seize the moment and be more brave in the next 7 days or so?
Opportunities are ‘now here’ remember, they’re not ‘nowhere’!
What can we do to be brave and bold and more seagull-like this week?
The wonderful Les Brown said “If you can look up, you can get up”. So let’s all look up and discover what we can be and do and achieve, while taking a chance or two on life this week.
Be more seagullish – but in a much more friendly way please
BTW, we went back and bought another ice cream and David carried it to the car for me, protecting it like a new born baby (it cost me a fiver after all!) and I sat and ate it in the car second-time round, for safety’s sake.
Yeh right – jog on Sammy Seagull! That would’ve been as likely as the Pope marrying Jennifer Lopez mateyHere’s the leader of the gang, staring at me through my car window, sitting on the bonnet as bold as brass, clearly hoping I’d forgive him (defo was a male ) his dirty deed and throw him my crumbs at the end of my indulging in that scrummy-yummy honeycomb & peanut butter ice-cream.
Until next time – stay safe and keep FIT!
Best regs
Marie X
