New Beginnings: Lessons From the Birds and the Bees

Dr. David Rafeedie

I like to work on my patio. I have comfortable furniture and a plugin, and that is all I need. Some of you are already saying, “So what, why should we care where you work?!” Good question. There is no reason why you should care where I work. But bear with me for a moment, and I will explain.

One would think that sitting in my backyard in an incredibly quiet community it would be peaceful. The other day I looked up from my screen to just stop and carefully take in the yard. The individual trees and bushes. The brick wall, the rocks, the boulders. Everything natural that was there, I began to look closely at everything.

It turns out; it isn’t so quiet and peaceful after all in my backyard. It is busy and chaotic. There is buzzing and chirping and crawling and fighting, and home building, and pollinating all taking place at the same time.

Bees were swarming the Bottle Brushes; birds were all over the trees and flying through and landing in the backyard. Quail were exploring the yard among the rocks, lizards were crawling on the fence, and sometimes doing push-ups. And the Doves were collecting twigs for their nests. At times an interloper would show up, and there was a Dove fight. Roadrunners and hummingbirds complete the Rafeedie yard community.

As spring is arriving, all these animals are starting life over again for another year. Buzzing and building and fighting and the soon to be parents will be feeding and protecting. It is a busy time of life for all the inhabitants of my yard. It was great to watch all of this activity, and I was mesmerized by it for a while.

But if I captured one of those birds and put it in a cage. They would become agitated and stressed in that new and confining environment. The same would be true for any of the animals I was watching.

I thought about what life is usually like for us humans, at least in the western part of the world. We do the same things, right? We pollinate (nothing more to say about that), we explore, we fight, we build, we work, and we play. We are usually very busy and active. I like it that way.

Then all of a sudden, we were not busy; we are confined. COVID-19 and the government slammed on the brakes, made us stay home, and we came to an abrupt stop. We are stuck at home, and depending on where you live, you may be there a while. But there is no reason why we cannot be busy, build, fight (easy to do when we are all cooped up together sometimes), and play. We just do so differently until we get back to normal. You are asking, “Just how are we supposed to do those things while stuck at home?”

Good question, but I am the coach, and I’ll do the asking if you don’t mind.

Since we are talking about new beginnings, starting fresh even when stuck at home. Here are a couple of important lessons from the birds and the bees.

Lesson One: Ask yourself the following questions and write down the answers on paper or type them on your tablet or computer. If you are wondering what questions have to do with the birds and the bees, so am I?  

1. What have I learned about myself during this time?

2. What have I learned about my team?

3. How can I take advantage of the lessons I have learned? What can I build on?

4. What do I want to change about my team and me?

Lesson Two: Put together a plan. The birds and bees operate by instinct, but they go about it very methodically. Developing a strategy around the answers to the questions above will not only have you doing meaningful work while stuck at home but will also allow you to hit the road running when things become healthy again.

Good things were happening before COVID-19 (BC-19) came into the picture and seemingly derailed your efforts. This unprecedented time we find ourselves is a great time to build on the good and throw out the not-so-good.

Building on the good from BC-19 and developing new beginnings will put you in a position to capitalize on the present and succeed in the future. The only barrier to accomplishing the above is you.

Right now, could be the opportune time for a fresh beginning. I would love to touch base and help. I am passionate about partnering with others for change and growth. Email me at info@davidthecoach.com, text me, feel free to call. You can text me your phone number, and I will call you to start a conversation to see if I can help you.

If you are reading this on social media, check out my website at www.davidthecoach.com.  You will also find more blogs on fear, leadership, transitions, and other subjects dealing with success factors.