How the kookaburra creates excellence in laughter

Young KookaburraHe’s sitting a few meters from me on the bird bath – practising his laughter.

It’s a kookaburra. Their call is a strange and most amazing sound in the Australian bush.

You can’t help but smile – even on a rainy morning like today.

Again and again the young bird starts: ewa, ewa, ewa

He gets the throaty bit, but the full on laughter is not happening – yet.

He’s young – maybe a few months old.

In the beginning his call was so far away from the full kookaburra laughter that I didn’t know what bird it was.

Again and again I heard the call – practicing over hours.

Every day a little bit closer to the full call.

The dedication is impressive.

This is how birds learn their call.

Practice, practice, practice…

Kids do it as naturally as animals.

However, even as adults we still can learn and practice new things.

Song writer’s, like Nick Cave, sit down every day to write.

Musicians play their instrument daily – sometimes the same tune over and over.

Meditators do their practice daily – no matter what is happening in their mind.

Sports people go running in the morning – no matter what the weather.

These people know, practice creates excellence – and a sense of inner peace, where you give your thoughts a break.

A so called ‘no-mind’ state for a while.

So many benefits – including a happier outlook throughout the day, learning new things, keeping the mind well into a ripe old age.

So what is it that stops people from doing something that clearly has a benefit to their wellbeing?

I know how hard it is to get going, again and again, until something becomes such a strong habit that we miss it when we don’t do it.

But the benefits are palpable.

To get to this point we have to be persistent – jump over our shadows again and again.

Just as yesterday, the young kookaburra made his first full call – laughing along with his mates, perched on the birdbath.

If you’d like to establish a regular practice, and you need assistance in this, I am happy to accompany you along the way.

Until your habits have taken hold – maybe with a little laughter.

Preeti