I turned 65 this year, and while I know that chickens won't literally keep my young, they do represent a chance to learn something new. And that is vital to staying engaged with life.
Chickens are also the realization of a dream to live in a rural area on a little farm. I may never live on a little farm, but I am getting my chicken's. There is a vitality in learning new things, and that can happen at any age, or stage. I am blessed with good health, and no real infirmities ( just the groaning when I get up from a chair). I don't want to waste that.
Learning about my girls is a way to start on a new and different path. Nothing dramatic or life shattering, just raising a few hens, but it feels great!
I am learning so much about chickens, but it could be any topic or interest. I call this " just close your eyes and sign", meaning take the risk. It seems easier sometimes to just let things be, getting stuck in a rut of same old same old. But that is not growth, it is stagnating. I do not like that word.
It has taken some effort, though not much, to take the plunge into chicken wrangling, but it has brought new ideas, new discussions, and even new friends into my life. I do not intend to sit on the couch ( unless there is a chicken on my lap), watching TV and letting the best days of my life pass in lassitude and doldrums. That can become a habit that is too hard to break.
Maybe wrangling chickens is a metaphor for life in general. While chickens have a routine, they do have to adapt to change, just like all of us. When we first get them, I know they will be scared, unsure and wary. Who wouldn't be. But... I will begin teaching them new things, while they are teaching me.
I have a whole list of simple dreams I want to realize. Things like going to a Cal Berkeley game, writing a book, and eating eggs from my own sweet hens.
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