We were devastated!!

That is, my two year old daughter and I. We had been visiting this family for weeks; we often took them some food, knowing that food, for them, was scarce and it was obvious that they were not in receipt of benefits. Their home wasn’t furnished very well and was surrounded by litter. You can imagine our despair as we arrived close to their home on Wednesday to discover that it was completely gone. There had been heavy rainfall the previous evening and the Moorhen’s nest had been washed clean away. Skye, our daughter, was visibly upset and asked “Daddy, what going to do?”

I assured her that they would be fine and we set off around the pond as I knew there was another nest at the other side. I found myself wondering just what the family of Moorhens were going to do. We finished off-loading the half loaf of bread to a collection of birds and we made our way home. I decided to make a detour avoiding the site of the nest on our return journey and we went about our business for the day.

Two days passed before we returned to the pond close to our home. I felt a little sadness, more for Skye who uttered “nest wash away daddy” as we approached the site of the nest. I knew we couldn’t avoid the area forever so decided to pass anyway. I had to make a double take as I spotted what Skye did a few seconds after me; there was another nest, which had been built within 48 hours to replace the one that had been washed away so unexpectedly.
“Nest come back. Nest come back,” shouted Skye as she dived for the bread, which lay in the basket underneath the pram. I couldn’t believe how the two parents had obviously worked tirelessly and probably through the night to provide shelter for the two chicks. I was amazed and blown away by their efforts.

During the inspirational talks that I give up and down the country I encourage audiences to adopt an ‘iCan’ attitude to overcome life’s setbacks. I know only too well how life often doesn’t turn out the way we expect; divorce, redundancy, bankruptcy, home being washed away; we can do nothing about the events that happen around us. What we can do is adopt the right attitude to dust ourselves down and ask ourselves what we can do about the situation, as the moorhens did; find the strength that lies within each of us to take responsibility for the situation and regain some control. Observing what those guys did with a handful of twigs, branches, leaves and, would you believe, ice pop wrappers, brought home to me that the ability to deal with life’s setbacks is within each and every member of the living world. Incidentally, the young chicks learned a valuable lesson during those 48 hours. Maybe next time life deals you a blow it may be worth asking what you can learn from the situation. It’s simply a matter of attitude: An ‘iCan’ attitude. Don’t leave home without it.