I don't own a TV, so I have to get creative when I want mindless entertainment.  Sometimes, I'll sit in my living room and watch the cat chase his tail.  Other times, I'll people watch from my living room window.

But if I'm feeling really adventurous, I'll go to the local park and watch the pigeons.  I've always had great respect for my feathered brethren.  And much of that comes from their survival instincts.

While predator species like lynxes and wolves have been driven to near extinction by the expansion of human cities, pigeons have learned to thrive in them.  They exchanged the rock cliffs of their ancestors for the high ledges of skyscrapers to make their nests.  Instead of feeding on grains and berries like their forefathers, they eat bird seed and popcorn.  And despite the fact that most people see them as pests, pigeons have expanded their range to include every livable climate on earth with the exceptions of Antarctica and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Say what you want about these "rats with wings", but they're clearly doing something right.  Case in point, the other day I was watching them go about their business in the park when a man got up from a nearby bench; leaving his half-finished sandwich behind.  I should stop here and say that littering is a major pet peeve of mine, and I was about to walk over and say something to him.  But before I could something happened that made me stop.

A pigeon hopped over to the sandwich and started pecking at it.  Then another flew over to join him.  Eventually, there were 7-8 birds tearing into this sandwich and cooing happily to themselves.  45 minutes later there was nothing left but a plastic container and some small bits of lettuce.

That's how awesome pigeons are.  They take our garbage and use it as food for their survival.  We could learn a lot from them.

Human existence is filled with garbage.  Sometimes, it's literal trash that the wind blows over from our neighbor's lawn.  Other times, it's a 24-hour news cycle that's designed to make us fearful.

And how we react to this garbage affects both our spiritual practice and our life as a whole.  We can let this filth pile up in our hearts.  Or we can take a lesson from the pigeon Buddhas, and find ways to make trash a healthy part of our lives.

When we do this, hateful comments shift from a source of suffering to an opportunity to practice patience.  And unrequited love helps us find the Buddha within ourselves.  Naturally, we don't become good at this sort of practice overnight.  It requires time, patience, and a good amount of effort.

So, like a pigeon on a park bench, we must peck at our suffering; devouring it bit by bit as if it were bird seed.  And as we take this trash into ourselves, it becomes nourishment for our souls.  Our practice becomes stronger, our minds become healthier, and we're able to live in the world without fear.

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I Take Refuge in the Pigeon Buddha