Olive branch? Heron stick!

Great Blue Heron offering stick for nest (google image)

He, larger and bluer than she, flew in from upriver with a stick in his beak. No doubt it had been carefully selected from among many along the Colorado River, as he wanted only the best for his lady and for their nest. Landing his 4-foot frame in an ungainly fashion and flapping his wings for balance, he presented her the smooth dead branch. She accepted it and began tucking it into the nest beneath her.

That’s how it begins, my friends… with one stick. Herons’ sticks are my new metaphor for relationship-building, friendship-strengthening, peace-making. Great Blue Herons are my teachers. Pick a relationship today — it can be any relationship. Pick a suitable stick. Offer that small stick humbly, and see how it is accepted. It takes only one to start.