At a memorial service this past week I was struck by two words a granddaughter of the deceased used to describe her grandmother. “Fiercely kind.” In many ways they seem two words that do not go together. And yet……I thought of the many times in any day when kindness might not be my first choice, when irritation or frustration are scrambling my brain and I simply want to say the first thing that pops up and allow it to come shooting out of my mouth. So many days are filled with a personal agenda that seems so urgent that nothing, certainly not the effort of kindness, can be allowed to get in the way of accomplishment. To be fiercely kind, I believe, takes a commitment, a discipline, that does not come easy to everyone. I felt blessed to hear this young woman’s description and that she had had the kind of relationship with her grandmother that created the opportunity for her to notice and to be in its presence.

The day after hearing these words I was driving down Highway 13 near our house. It was early morning and people, myself included, had that ‘I must get there’ look on their faces. Plans had already been put into motion for a day over which we thought we had control. Serious delusion, this. Abruptly, ahead of me the line of traffic in both lanes came to a halt. I craned my neck to see what was happening. Who, what had the nerve to be messing with my need to get going?

Then I saw them. At least eight large, wild turkeys. One had ventured out onto the road and the others had lined up behind as if cueing up for a carnival ride. Slowly……for these birds do not move anything but slowly…..one by one they made their way across the road. While they may not be elegant in their movements these large birds make up for their lack of finesse with their sheer beauty and magnificent presence. One of the birds must have felt some anxiety and actually lifted its wings in a short burst of flight but came back to the ground to get back in step with the others. Four or five crossed and many of the cars moved on no worse the wear for having had their human morning interrupted by turkeys.

But as my car inched up I caught sight of three more birds lurching slowly up the incline of the roadside. I stopped as did the traffic on the other side of the road and we all waited once again for the stragglers to meet up with their band of feathered friends on the other side of the road. Iridescent navy blue and deep green feathers shown beneath brown as I caught an ‘up close and personal’ view of this beautiful bird. Soon all the turkeys were once again united having perhaps answered the question…..”Why does the turkey cross the road?”

For some reason sitting there in our metal boxes watching these turkeys, having had their presence bring the free fall of our days to a halt, I thought of the granddaughter’s description. There was a certain amount of kindness that was born in that moment….the stopping….the waiting…the watching…..the noticing…perhaps even the awe that was felt at the beauty of another being so different than our two-legged selves. Somehow the gift of these vulnerable creatures engendered a realization that might be described as kindness.

There are many moments in a day that might call for us to be fiercely kind. Sometimes we notice them and sometimes we are too busy and we miss an opportunity to birth kindness in the world. What a shame that is. Not every day will turkeys cross our path requiring us to stop and notice them. But human ones walk in and out of our day all the time and they may be as vulnerable and fragile. Many are carrying hurts and disappointments that go deep. Many are feeling just at the edge of giving up or shutting down. Many have not had anyone notice their beauty for a very long time.

All need someone to be fiercely kind. Someone to stop what ever important thing they might have been planning and to notice them, to honor their place in the Universe, someone to see the unique gift they are in the vast scheme of things.

May this day find us being fiercely kind. May this day find us receiving a fierce kindness.