Kaboom, Chaos, Clarity

So yesterday, I was at a store getting my car battery replaced—it was just that time. I was inside, speaking with one of the attendants as we prepared to complete the transaction. Since the battery was under warranty, we were working out the swap.

Suddenly, we both heard a loud KABOOM. The attendant immediately said, "Oh no, the sign must have fallen!"

Me, being inquisitive (and a little nosy), asked, "The sign?" I walked toward the entrance, opened the door, and looked around—but I didn’t see a sign. I said, "No, there’s no sign..."

And then I saw it.

I screamed. Like, really screamed—the kind of scream you'd think was for a murder scene. But it wasn’t that.

It was a bird. A bird had flown straight into the glass window and hit it so hard, it dropped to the ground. I yelled, "Oh no! A bird hit the window!"

The attendant came rushing over, then another one followed. We all stood there looking at this bird. It had clearly broken its neck. My whole body reacted—I was in complete panic and emotional overwhelm. It was a mix of little ‘t’ trauma and big ‘T’ trauma all at once.

I jumped into action and started praying. I spoke to the bird softly: "You're OK. You’re healing right now. God, please save this bird."

I could see it breathing. Its little body was rising and falling with each breath, but it wasn’t moving—just frozen. I told it, "You’re just knocked out for a bit. You’re going to be alright."

I held my Reiki hands over it and sent it healing energy. "Stay there as long as you need to," in a loud whisper.

The attendants went back inside to finish the battery process, but I stayed outside—crying for this bird. "You’re going to be OK," I kept saying.

It felt like 20, maybe 30 minutes had passed, though it was probably just 5. Then—slowly—the bird sat up.

"It’s OK," I whispered again, speaking over it in love, healing energy, and soft words. People walked past it, cars pulled up near it—but the bird didn’t move. It stayed still, like a little statue, just absorbing healing energy.

I kept affirming: "Your wings are healed. Your legs are healed." And then it started to move its little legs. I was like, "You got this, you got this."

Death felt near in that moment. It sent me spiraling into thoughts about life—how often nature is harmed by the structures and systems humans create. Not intentionally, most of the time—I really believe that—but still, the impact is real.

It was all very theatrical for me emotionally. But in the end, the bird flew away.

And it left a little white deposit behind. You know the kind. I laughed and said, “I guess that bird got the sh*t knocked out of him, but he’s alright!”

And the moral of the story? Sometimes in life, we really do get the sh*t knocked out of us. But we still rise. We stand up. We fly toward a new destination, because we have a purpose.

Just like that bird, I know I have a purpose too. Even in the moments I feel like no one is praying for me—I remember that someone is. Even if it’s just me.