Something I noticed

There was a thunderstorm going on. I was standing in the veranda watching the view. It was dusk. Rain falling down in big big drops.

Suddenly I noticed a flight of birds, going back to their nests by all chance. Visibility was low, expect the birds to have the same fortune too. Add to that the heavy drops of water soaking them up & decreasing their flight performance. How much harder do they have to try to stay flying?

Well, coming to what I wanted to tell. Hmmm, I noticed something, something I miss in people behaviour. They were following someone. One always leads. That was understandable. There has to be a specific goal to get to & the leader of the flock showed the way. But I noticed something else.

In the heavy rainfall, with low visibility, some of the birds separate from the flock. But the thing is that this separate cacophony actually came together to form another arranged flock, with it’s own leader. Whenever a single bird tended to get separated (due to heavy wind, loss of visibility), the others grouped around it, straying away from their decided path, to ensure that the flock stayed put. Eventually, the broken flock “called upon” the main one & they merged together, still maintaining an order in the flight. The path changed course over this length, but the flock came back, strong as ever. and somehow reached their adobe.

The sight was beautiful. It was like watching fluid in motion, something like the path of a drop of ink in a slightly turbulent stream of water. Smooth.

But after all this was over, when I started to blog this down, it dawned upon me. I am not a bird-watcher & have not much idea on bird behaiour, but I am very sure that what I saw is not the whole thing. Birds don’t follow a leader among them. They maintain a group, for safety… for surety… for a goal… I’m not sure what.

What mattered is that everyone counted here. The tail matters as much as the head, the sides too carried the same importance. A leader doesn’t give the group form, the whole flock gave it.

That is why the flock stayed together, even when one strayed away, they followed him as if he’s a leader. No, not at all. They were actually calling him back, giving him directions, guiding him back to the flock. Protecting him, rather than following him, even if it cost them their own safety.

That is something we don’t see a lot in human behavior. That is something we should appreciate & put our thoughts on.