Photo by John B. McComb
While chugging along in my little red Hyundai accent, my body tenses up and my right foot prepares to go into action to slam on the brakes. Out of my peripheral view I can see it coming but don’t know how close of a call it will be. At that moment a large bird in flight crosses in front of my car, passing from left to right, in grand view in front of my car windshield. With wings spread outwards it soars dangerously close to death as I grit my teeth, estimating in split seconds of time whether or not I’ll need to apply the brakes to save this bird from an untimely death. “Don’t get too…close” I mutter indistinctly under my breath, more as an automatic reaction than one of calculated thought. Finally the bird clears my path to safety and I begin to relax the muscles throughout my body. “That was way too close” I say out loud, as a smile appears on my face, which had just moments before been pursed tightly in a grimace.I’m smiling, not because I avoided damage to my car, nor because the bird and I are both safe (though that is more than enough reason to make anyone smile). Nobody was in the car with me, so who was I talking to? You see, birds in flight, specifically birds crossing dangerously close in front of my vehicle as I am driving, are just one of the ways I am reminded of spirit. It is one of the tools that spirit uses to shake me out of my automatic mode of thinking, with the intent of connecting with me through recognition of a symbol.
What do I mean by a symbol from spirit? Well, lots of people have them, and they can range from sights, smells, feelings, songs, numbers, patterns, to a whole host of other occurrences in our daily lives. These are different for each person and relative to their own individual experiences. Several of the more fascinating examples to me are when people sense a familiar smell that was closely associated with a loved one who has passed. I’ve heard of the smell of cigars in a place where no one smokes, accompanied by the feeling that their loved one is present, or “visiting”. Even more interesting is when you hear stories of a song of personal significance being played, perhaps on the radio, at just the right moment. These experiences can have a profound effect on people, and are not uncommon.
Why birds, what’s so special about them to me? Well, I’m not quite sure where and when it started, I have little record of it in my personal journal. What I do know is that after becoming aware of life after death in 2005 I started to open my consciousness. Part of that process is learning to be aware of the world of spirit as they interact with us in our daily lives. One of the first records I have is in January of 2008 when my girlfriend at the time walked in the front door and exclaimed “You wouldn’t believe what just happened!”. As she got out of her car and walked towards the house, a Robin had been sitting above the front door, perched on the roof of our house. 5 days earlier during a reading on the phone with a medium, she had been told that birds would be a sign to her that someone is with her in spirit, more specifically a Cardinal or a Robin. In her case there was someone she loved that had passed, and this symbol of a bird represented a connection that still remained unbroken.
At some point in time I experienced my “suicide birds” flying in front of my vehicle. Once I became aware of it and assigned significance to it, it happened more and more frequently. At that point spirit and I had created a language, a common symbol that I formally recognized as having a particular meaning, and when experienced would cause me to break my thought and think specifically of spirit and those who try to communicate with me from the other side of life. This is no different than psychics and mediums who develop certain symbols and assign a specific meaning to them to assist them in understanding and relaying the message to the intended recipient. In my case these birds meant “remember who you are, you are spirit living in a body, think of us now, for we are with you.”
The more you work with a language or skill set, the more versatile it becomes. One bird became two, two became three, and patterns began to emerge.
Photo by John B McComb
There was also a period where I was in a relationship that had ended, yet I was open to reconciliation and was spending time together with this person for some time after the break. All of a sudden I started to see a single bird carrying its prey (usually a fish) in its talons as it flew overhead. It was as if I had superhuman vision and could clearly see the captor and the captive, moving like slow motion in a movie. And it began to happen more frequently. After seeing just birds flying for years, all of a sudden within a few months I saw at least nine of these birds flying by, carrying their prey. I asked myself “Why am I seeing all of these birds carrying fish?” In my head I heard “Are you the bird, or the fish?” It was then that I realized this was symbolic to me. Was I independent in flight, or was I being whisked away by circumstances I felt were beyond my control? I knew and felt the answer, and this I now recognize as a symbol of someone losing their independence and not remaining true to their inner light, the frustration of feeling loss of control of a situation. As it turned out, the reconciliation mentioned previously was short-lived.
August 4, 2014: Personal Log, Facebook Post. Standing outside of the skyscraper in downtown Tampa that I work in, taking a break. I see a bird fly and catch my attention, but quickly disappearing behind a huge column structure. I say “Hi bird, as I watched you fly and then disappear I asked “where are you?” And then you reappeared and landed on the letter “A” next to the word “TRUST” and looked at me….. I get it.”
My grandmother had a small ceramic Eagle sitting on her bookshelf the last time I saw her. After she transitioned, it was one of two things I requested to keep. It is not a symbol specific to her, but it will remain as one that she may use in attempted communication with me.
Years later I can now say that since these birds began flying into my life they have helped remind me that I too, am spirit – with the ability to fly and change my course at will at any moment. And so it is the same for us all. And like our feathered friends – if we spread our wings and soar, recognizing the true spirit within and all around us, we can and will develop our ability to learn, grow, and evolve.
P.S. I no longer think of these flying ambassadors of goodwill as suicidal, perhaps more well-intentioned than I had originally thought – though sometimes their flight maneuvering skills may come into question!
by Keith J. Clark
Photos by John B. McComb where labeled, All Rights Reserved.
Do you have a story of a Sign from Spirit that you would like to share? Maybe something that will be seen as evidential by others, or a heart-warming story with an unexpected twist? Do you think you can help others understand that not only is spirit all around us, but also that we are spirit? If so, drop us a line.