Counter-Intuitive Solutions

DateLine (8/30/06 – Nanuet, New York)

This past weekend someone in the family discovered that a hummingbird had entered our garage through an open door and obviously could not figure out how to escape. We ignored the bird for a short while hoping that eventually it would discover the big open door and extract itself, a seemingly simple exercise. Much to our disappointment, this beautiful little bird could not on its own discover the solution to its dilemma. It was not for lack of effort; with energy characteristic of the species the hummingbird sought escape.

After assessing the situation I determined that we would have to intervene and assist the bird. As I observed the bird I noticed that it never got below about 6” from the ceiling. It obviously was driven by a deep rooted instinct that it needed to go up (to the sky) to escape. It could not observe the door which was literally big enough to drive a car through which was only about 2 foot below where it was frantically searching for an escape upward. From my vantage point the solution was easy; the bird could not “see” it. I grabbed a broom from the closet to see if I could gently coax the bird toward the open door.

Soon Kyle joined the effort with a butterfly net. The frantic darting about of the bird was not conducive to the use of the net. All that we accomplished was to further stress the bird. Soon something occurred that I had never before witnessed; the hummingbird lit on top of the garage door. I had never observed a hummingbird with their wings totally stilled. It was obvious that the bird was in a struggle for its very existence. After a short rest the bird resumed its efforts to escape.

During the episode it had begun to get dark in the garage so I had secured a very bright work light to help us keep track of the bird. Soon we observed that the bird appeared to be attracted to the light and in fact I could guide the bird across the ceiling by slowly moving the light in front of the bird in the direction I wished for it to travel. Once we learned this trick, I maneuvered the bird in Kyle’s direction and in a short time he was able to net the bird and release it to the outside. Mission accomplished.

Now what’s the point? Every instinct in the bird told it to escape by traveling skyward. The bird found itself in a position where instinct was flat wrong. In spite of the fact that it was working feverishly it was doomed by its own actions. As a matter of fact its instinctive driven actions were escalating the danger. An external influence had to guide it to a solution. I’m convinced that had we not intervened we would have found a dead bird in the garage the next morning.

What can we learn from this experience? Many times in the human experience we find ourselves facing intractable situations which are in fact are a reflection of the fallen state of mankind. Left to our own intellect and resources we fail to find solutions to our predicament. Often the solution runs counter to our instincts. From God’s perspective the solution is obvious and simple. God guides us to the counter-intuitive solution. We must trust the guidance of God to lead us to solutions. God’s work in our lives is a living testimony to His grace and mercy.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him”, II Corinthians 2:14

The easiest route to escape the human predicament is to follow the light of God’s revelation.