Today I am a hummingbird
Follow what calls to you, without guilt, urgency, or explanation
There is a beautiful Bougainvillea outside my desk window that the hummingbirds frequent. Naturally, I spend a lot of time watching them flit around in what always seems like a random order, enjoying the flowers, and I often laugh because they remind me so much of myself. Back and forth, all over the place, only occasionally stopping for a brief rest on a bare branch to make their delightful little chirps and do some feather ruffling (grooming?) before they resume their rapid little treasure hunt.
For the past couple of years or so, I’ve made an effort to let myself channel my inner hummingbird on the weekends when I can. I don’t take my ADHD meds, I don’t try to focus on any specific task/chore, I just follow whatever path feels natural.
I call it hummingbirding.
I let myself flit to and fro from whatever calls to me. And I do it, not only completely judgment-free, but joyously. Even in my head, I’m kind to myself about it, and it feels good. A hummingbird has a mission, and they don’t give a flying flutter what that looks like to anyone else. So I follow their example, flitting from room to room, indoors and out, knowing (and accepting) that this is how my brain works and I just let it flow, prepared to deal with the inevitable trail of abandoned tasks later as needed.
Often, I will start with watering the plants only to be distracted halfway through by the dirt I just knocked on the floor, and on my way to get the broom, I see the laundry that needs to go into the washer. I check the dryer to find clothes that need to be put away, so I toss them in a basket and go into the bedroom, but it’s too dark in there, so I open the curtains and see how dirty the windows are. I leave the basket on the bed and go to the kitchen to get a towel and some cleaner, and see my coffee cup sitting on the counter. It reminds me that I haven’t had much water today, so I go looking for my water bottle, fill it up, step on a Lego piece, and realize it’s lunchtime and the kid needs to eat. I make lunch, and hear the washer dinging that it’s done, but I’m already looking through my gardening supplies drawer and find some old seeds that I’m organizing, and I say that I’ll get to it when I’m done, already knowing I won’t and that’s fine because today, I am a hummingbird and this is the path that the flowers are leading me.
Stay kind. Stay curious. <3
Nikki
If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed or disconnected from yourself lately, check out this helpful little tool I created to help you pause and reset.
The Propagation Protocol is a simple check-in designed to help you reflect, realign, and move forward with more clarity and care.
You can explore it here!
Hey Look! A cool plant!
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea spectabilis
This plant’s vivid colors come from thin, paper-like heart-shaped leaves called bracts, which surround the real flowers and help attract pollinators. The actual flowers are small, often white or pale yellow, and tucked inside the center of the bracts. It is an “aggressive” climber, using its long, sharp thorns to grab onto whatever is available and benefits from a little neglect, as over-watering can keep its leaves green instead of the vibrant pinks, purples, or oranges.
The Bougainvillea was originally documented in 1767 in Brazil by Jeanne Baret, a French botanist, herbalist, and the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. Since at the time, women were forbidden from boarding French naval ships, Baret had to disguise herself as a man to secretly join the expedition led by Admiral Louis Antoine de Bougainville, for whom the plant was later named.
Some things I found interesting and thought you might too
Brief bursts of intense exercise, such as 30‑second sprints, may help reduce the frequency and intensity of panic attacks.
Scientists turn wool into bone-healing material in a medical breakthrough.
A new study finds that meat‑eating dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms because their massive, powerful heads took over the role of attacking and restraining prey, making large forelimbs unnecessary.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly. — Albert Einstein