Lorikeets are fun to be with. If you ever get an opportunity to hang out with them, take it.
We were recently at an aviary and lucked into a magical experience. At most aviaries, you buy a small cup or stick with nectar mix to feed the birds. They fly over and sit on your hand to eat. When your nectar runs out, they forget about you and fly off to the next person for more. You feel a little bit used, but that’s OK.
Our lorikeet experience this time was different. We arrived early on a Sunday morning before the crowds made it in. After visiting with other birds, we came to the Lorikeet encounter and noticed the chain covering the door had been taken down. This was wonderful, so we stepped in.
We assumed they were letting us in early to wait inside for the keeper with the nectar to arrive. The schedule said the nectar encounter began at 10:30 and it was only 10:00 AM.
We stood quietly looking at the birds who were staying to themselves on their perches. Since we didn’t have the coveted nectar, it made sense that they didn’t care about us. Then something magical happened.
One lorikeet flew over and landed on my shoulder. What fun! Next, one landed on Anne’s shoulder. Then another landed on me followed by another landing on Anne’s head. It must have suddenly occurred to them that we were there for their entertainment.
Soon, there were three and four of them on each of us. Instead of searching for food from us, they were crawling up and down our chests, backs, heads and peaking in our pockets. They were going to take full advantage of this curious situation.
We were grinning from ear to ear as they came sliding down our heads and crawling up our backs. We felt like jungle gyms.
Anything that was not flat was being explored. They looked in our ears and checked out our buttons and zippers. Nothing was left unexamined.
They plucked and pulled and made themselves comfortable. Two were going under my shirt to see what was going on in there as another one pulled on Anne’s hair and headband to get it to it snap back.
After 20 minutes of this fun for all, the door opened and the keeper came in with a scowl on his face. He scolded us for being early to the nectar event. We apologized. The birds ignored the keeper and kept up with their investigations. We were their new toys supplied by the benevolent bird universe.
He took them off us and told us to go stand outside and wait for another 10 minutes until the nectar event began.
He wanted us to feel guilty, and we were beginning to do so. He seemed to be feeling guilty, himself, for having left the enclosure open and unattended. He was putting the blame on us, and soon we felt guilty for misunderstanding their protocols.
The lorikeets, on the other hand, felt no guilt. They knew a good time when they saw it. No apologies. No one was hurt. No one stole anything. No one was pooped on. So, all was good in the lorikeets’ minds.
Because we were feeling uncomfortable, we didn’t stick around for the nectar experience. We wanted to get back to being happy where we were just moments before.
We decided to walk around the grounds to get centered. What were we grateful for? Making a list of these in our heads would help us get back into our hearts and feel good again.
We thanked the keeper for unlocking the door early even though he thought it was a mistake.- We thanked the other tourists for not entering the enclosure because that gave us a private experience.
- We thanked ourselves for getting up early to get there when the park was quiet.
- We thanked the sun, the weather, and anything else we could throw into the pot.
When we made it back to our car, we looked at our lorikeet photos, and that did it. We were happy again.
The lorikeets taught us to fully embrace an enjoyable experience. The universe smiled upon us. Goodness was appreciated. And we were now feeling guilt free like the lorikeets. Thank you, lorikeets, for a magically fun time!