Magpies are an iconic 'chaser' here in Australia. I don't think there are many of us that haven't encountered that awful 'crack' near on or the back of our heads while blissfully trying to enjoy the great outdoors. Many a brutal injury has been sustained at the beak of a maggie. When I was younger I was told that if you look at the magpie, it will back off. I was petrified to test this when I was a kid, fearing that I would lose an eye...but turns out, it is on the money! Maggies don't do well to attack when you put your eyes on them.

This seems to apply even when they are not on the attack. When they are simply wandering around looking for wormies or what ever they eat. as I sipped on my coffee out the back this morning, a mummy maggie and a baby maggie sauntered around in front of me as I tip tapped away on my computer. They were both on the patio, and all of us were aware of each other. Yet, when I lifted my head gently without wanting to disturb them, they moved away. I lowered my head, the moved back. Again, I lifted my head and they moved away.

Watching this dace this morning as the mummy magpie oriented the baby magpie gave me a lovely visual for some thoughts I have been considering lately. As the little magpie tip toed around, it was making it's own beautiful noise (to it and it's mother) but to me, it was a highly annoying sound. The kind of sound that is like nails on the blackboard at 1-2 second intervals.

Then it hit me. The baby maggie and it's mum are like irritating thoughts we have consistently. When we put our heads down and don't deal with the belief under the thoughts, they keep chirping (or mild screeching) away driving us nuts. It isn't until we stop and actually raise our heads to look at them that they start to move away. Put your head back down, they move closer again.

It has long been recognised that wherever you focus, the energy goes. While I agree with this, I think it is difficult to focus if you have this incessant screeching in the back ground. Once we step back and observe the noise, like in looking at the maggies do their thing, then question it's place in our mind - we are more able to focus on our bliss.

The noise comes to bring your attention back from the 'asleep' state most of us walk around in. It is purposeful and we should invite it. It is designed to help us not harm us. The noise wakes us up to what we aren't paying attention to that clearly needs attention. Look at it, see it for what it is and let it go...

Breath in, breath out...and let go....