Permission to take flight
Welcome to my garden. I’m Peggy Fiedler, and I’m a compassion advocate, cancer thriver and storyteller. Today I’d like to talk about the mourning dove.
The day I was preparing my home for Christmas, four mourning doves went flying into my weeping cedar right about twilight. I rushed out to see them, looking high into the tree as my friend pointed. “Do you see their white bellies?”
The doves had come to remind me of something I didn’t want to forget.
Sometimes we call them turtle doves, which are known for forming strong pair bonds. Because of that and because they are featured in the Song of Solomon in the Bible, doves are often seen as cultural emblems of romantic love.
Their bond is so strong that sometimes it extends beyond death. When one dove loses a mate, it may watch over and continue to care for its lost mate for some time.
Even with my loss, I still feel the bond. A part of me always watches over my mate and his memory. Yet eventually the dove will find a new mate, a reminder that brings us to treasure the bond and still have the permission to move on.
Mourning doves make two distinct sounds—the cooing sound of mating and the whistling of their wings as they take flight.
We have entered now a season of peace. I am touched at how the birds want to be near me. The doves have found their winter haven in my cedar. Instead of migrating south, the doves have joined me in the high branches of this robust evergreen to find their protection and safety. I believe they will stay with me throughout the season.
THE MOURNING DOVE AFFIRMATION
I honor the mourning dove, who reminds me to cherish what I love, soothes me as I mourn its loss and grants me the permission to take new flight.
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