Parrot - Everyday Beauty

Keywords:

Mundane communication. Friendship. Colour therapy. Celebration. Joyful expression. Congregation. Everyday beauty. Reaching new goals with ease. Pollination. Healing touch. Love. Superficiality.



General Description:

Parrots are generally well-loved (and noisy) birds in Australia. Some species are common and well-known, such as the corella, galah, budgerigah and the rainbow lorikeet. Australia has around 50 species of parrot, from cockatoo to ground-parrot to rosella. Parrots are known for their usually bright plumage, diverse array of calls and cries, and their generally sociable behaviour (though a few parrots are solitary). Many flock and have complex social relationships with one another. Parrots are also known for their strong hooked beaks, often used for consuming nuts and fruits. Lorikeets have a specialised feathered tongue when enables them to mop up nectar. Parrots are thought to be very intelligent, and are popular pets worldwide.



Lessons and Challenges:

In Australia, parrots are quite common. They are regular and mundane reminders of the glory and beauty that nature offers to us. As such they represent a kind of 'everyday beauty,' they are of course special, but we sometimes forget to notice that they are there almost all the time, whether in the suburbs, the bushland, the forests etc. They remind us that nature is always offering us the gift of beauty, especially if all we can focus on is negativity or ugliness.

Parrot teaches about colour therapy, or using colours consciously either on our bodies (in the way we dress) or how we accessorise our homes and other aspects of our lives. Colours can be healing, they can raise energy, they can soften it too. What's important is that we start noticing how significant colours are, and what colours we like/dislike, and how we bring them into our lives.

Parrots often allopreen or mutually groom one another, not just their mates, but also their young, and other parrots in gatherings. This grooming is gentle, and as much a bonding exercise as a valuable way to get rid of parasites. Parrot reminds us that touch is a very healing force, and that sometimes all we need is a good hug from a friend, or a back rub, or some other gentle reaching out to feel as though we are home again.

When parrot energy is around, there is often a focus on friendship and love. It may be that you have some friends that aren't nourishing you anymore, and that it is time to do away with them. Alternatively it may be that you are being asked to focus more closely on your friendships and how much love flows between you and other people. A good friendship is energising, it feeds our soul and assists growth.

Most types are parrot are adept at finding a great deal of food, and their ability to fly makes it doubly easy for them to find nourishment in their lives. Parrot teaches us how to reach our new goals with ease, to not struggle through obstacles, but to soar over them instead.

Many trees have adapted to the parrots that feed on them, and employ them as vectors for pollination. Likewise, we can look at how we share our energies with others. The entrance of parrot into someone's life usually indicates that there will be an increase in sharing and nourishment of others, as well as yourself. It tends to raise energy around you, as well as from within.

There can be an element of superficiality to watch out for with parrot, as well as the potential for gossip, and negatively employing everyday conversation for hurtful or shallow reasons. If you work consciously with parrot energy, it is possible to learn how to turn even mundane communication into productive, nourishing exchanges. Parrot communicates a great deal, but how we use that communication is up to us.

Parrot emphasises the connection we have with our friends, not only our closest friends, but also distant friends and acquaintances. They all help us in varying ways, and parrot promotes health in these areas.

There is a sense of celebration and joyful expression with parrot. Social parrots often congregate and chatter amongst themselves, allopreening one another, feeding each other, etc. They are an excellent example of the healing powers of social gatherings, congregations and celebrations. Parrot energy is that of parties and get-togethers, the healing ways in which we come together in groups to remember that we are an integral part of our community.

The Shadow Aspects:

Those who turn away from the presence of everyday beauty in their lives are challenged by the loud, bright and sometimes obnoxious parrot to open their eyes. Even when life seems raucous and abrasive, there is still beauty to be found in the quiet moments, in the loud moments, and in the moments when we least expect it. If we turn away from recognising the beauty around us, we also turn away from the spirit. Parrot will loudly screech in your life until you start to pay attention to the beauty around and within you.

The shadow aspect of parrot comes into your life to suggest that you are communicating poorly and you are letting others get away with communicating poorly. The everyday components of communication - the greetings, the manners, the small talk, are just as important as the grit of a deep and meaningful conversation. It is important to pay attention to all facets of communication. Parrot informs you that you have been neglecting this side of your life, and you may suffer or hurt (or hurt others) because of it. 'Small talk' is not bad or negative, and can build bridges and help you to get to know people better. It is time to bring it back into your life.

Communion:

Like all animal helpers, this animal will only appear when right and appropriate, and cannot be forced to visit you, commune with you, or share messages with you. Parrot is often quite a gregarious guide when it comes into people's life, often chattering quite freely, communicating in any language it feels like. It is not afraid to show itself in real life (if you are lucky enough to have them in your area) and often quite a colourful presence in visualisation or journeying. Some exceptions include the Australian ground parrots, which are shy, solitary and quiet. Try getting in the mood to contact parrot by acquiring some parrot feathers, or dressing in vibrant and bright colours that you enjoy, you can also consider giving offerings of flowers, nuts or seeds, depending on if there is a specific species of parrot you are trying to contact.