When Crows and Rooks collide: a lesson in perspective and peace
Originally posted 12 May 2024
This post explores the symbolic and insightful encounter of witnessing crows and rooks clashing over territory—a moment that mirrored the my own experience of navigating peer challenges and differing perspectives. As the corvids fought for dominance, I saw a reflection of how humans, too, can find their perspectives at odds though individuality, language's limitations, and the expansive journey of learning to embrace diverse experiences and viewpoints with compassion and curiosity.
Where I was living in the North West Highlands it was quite usual to see crows confronting raptors such as Buzzards and driving them away from their nest and out of their territory. I didn’t expect to see that in Edinburgh though, but I’ve seen them being attacked by seagulls as they fight over food … city life I guess.
Quarrelsome Rooks
What was really curious though was seeing them fighting off rooks. And the rooks were being really quarrelsome. We don’t really have rooks in the NW Highlands, they’re more on the East coast and further South. Rooks tend to travel in small flocks, whereas as Crows are usually in pairs or small family groups. This pair of crows were being attacked by rooks, whom they successfully drove off and out of their territory. I then saw this repeated elsewhere, and then the following day all was still and peaceful.
I spent some time reflecting on this. On why members of the same species were fighting. It felt hierarchical in some way … I’ve never seen Ravens and Crows fight although it may well happen, but I have seen hooded crows and crows both fight and appear to live peacefully side-by-side and now this.
A mirror to being challenged by my peers
I witnessed this at a time when I was being challenged by peers in various ways. What is interesting is that we each source our knowledge differently, as well as have different life experiences and areas of knowledge. Where these overlap there may appear to be a conflict when we view the world differently. This need not be so.
I paraphrase Tashira Tachi-Ren in saying that “there is no real truth in this language” meaning English or other non-indigenous language. And agree that as expressive as modern languages are, all to often they are found to be limitations that separate us, especially when trying to express something intangible.
While wordsmiths and poets are gifted in crafting language with a tempo that transcends this, many of us may not find the same ease in our everyday expression.
We all have different sets of gifts, and therefore, different experiences of what consciousness is and where we source our knowledge from. Some lean towards book-learning and research, while others are more creative and intuitive. Some love mathematics and geometries, others music, and some prefer just to be out in the wild world communing with nature and travel to experience adventure. We all have our own unique mix. And our lives becomes richer by sharing about what we love.
There is no need for there to be a right way or a wrong way we are each simply experiencing our way.
Expansion can be uncomfortable
Often there can be a difference in perspectives, which really is an invitation to expand our understanding. Though this can be an uncomfortable process because our edges are being challenged for this expansion to happen. In my experience, the higher an individuals frequency, i.e. the consistency of their radiance, embodiment and experience of vibrations such as love, joy, peace, calm, contentment etc, the broader and more inclusive their understanding of truth. They have a increased ability to accept many perspectives of truth that perviously may have seemed to be in conflict. They start to move beyond right and wrongs, out of dualistic thinking and into a greater unification of being. And this is what I feel the Corvids were showing me.
with much Love
from my Heart to yours.
~ Tania Aurora White Crow ~
