The   Brown   Pelican

 by Joy Kachel

I am the Spirit of the Wind, the Soul of the Pacific Coast.  I am a Sentry, patrolling the shoreline north and south along with the great Guardians of the Oceans, the Whales and the Sentinels of the Seacoast, the Cordon Cacti and the Redwoods.  My life flows effortlessly along on a roller coaster ride of currents, both liquid and etheric.  I am an Ancient One.  My pedigree traces back uninterrupted for millions of years.  I am a living relic of archaic times long ago gone by.  But I am an artist in a colony of artists: a fisher, a diver, a flyer.  I am a brown Pelican.   

My name is Lahgut.  I live in Laguna San Ignacio in Baja California, Sur.  I am daughter, sister, mother.  Even though I am no more than five seasons old, I know that I am dying.  I have been floating in the Lagoon now for three days, unable to rise and fly after a freak accident left my left wing broken. I have been stranded in the water too long.  My feathers are waterlogged and I am desperately weak from hunger.  I have drifted much too close to shore to ever be able to paddle back out to sea.  The mud of the tidepool is sucking me down and I can feel my life force slipping away.  Tonight I will close my eyes on the tidelands of Kuyima and will glide quietly, unnoticed into the forever realm of pure energy of Spirit.  I am not afraid; I’m not even sad.  My life has fulfilled an integral purpose in the totality of all living things.  Nothing will ever be the same as before I was born and everything will always be different after I die. My life mattered in the larger picture of life, even if my individuality was never noticed.  My body is from the earth and to the earth it shall return.  My spirit will soar to rejoin the Great Spirit in the Beyond the Beyond. 

        All parts of me are useful.  I perpetuated my species with my birth and have assured its continuation through the birth of my children.  I gave purpose to the fish that I ate as I used their energy to fuel my life and my waste was used to feed and enliven others.  With my breath I interacted with the elements of air and water and shared in their perpetual circulation throughout all time and mortality.  Through my digestion and now by my own physical decay I have powered earth and fire.  My feathers are used for ritual and to stuff soft pillows.  My bones become symbols of power and can make strong medicine.  My flesh provides nourishment for other living creatures and my dying provides a poignant lesson to any who view it in the dramatic cycle of Life.  I am deep in my death process while all around me life continues, seemingly disinterested and detached from my struggle.  No one helps, no one grieves, no one seems to care if I live or die.  Only a passing human witnesses and shares in my mystery and even she dismisses my final moments after a while.  But life does go on and I go on and we all go on together, around and around on the Great Spiral of Existence.

 Pelican Facts

The life expectancy of a pelican undisturbed by human beings is about 30 years.

Pelicans are fond of people, especially fishermen, who ironically are a danger to them.

Ninety percent of Florida's brown pelicans, which are injured or killed do so when they become entangled in monofilament fishing lines. At least 9 out of 10 pelicans in the bay will get caught in fish line at one time or another.

A pelican can live for 30 years under perfect conditions, but this seldom happens in the wild. The average lifespan of a pelican has been cut in half over the past 35 years. Occasionally a pelican is caught by a raccoon, an alligator or a shark, but his greatest enemy is man. Nine out of ten pelicans are injured or killed by fishing line. Many are also harmed by fishermen who are careless with their hooks or netting, and by speed boats, jet skis, pesticides, pollution and plastics.

Pelicans have been on earth for forty million years!  

Courtesy of  "The Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary" in   Sarasota, FL http://www.pelicanman.org