Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, long before there were airplanes, there was a young man who wanted to fly. When he was little he dreamed of flying. And he never stopped dreaming.

He would walk along the beach looking out over the immense ocean. He would run barefoot through the surf, the water kissing his feet, and his feet kissing the damp sand, leaving their impression for a moment. The land and sea loved each other and upon the beach they touched.

He would look out over the sea and wish he could fly above it. He wished he could soar above the beach and see the land and the surf stretched out before him.

He wanted to be a bird of love of every color of the rainbow, soaring above the farthest place he could see.

He wanted to be:

violet for a gentle and aware love,
  a love of the night, of snowflakes,
  of the dew, 
  of icicles and of water falls.
red for a strong lusty love,
  a love of lions and tigers, 
  and great mountains,
  of thunderstorms and the tides.
orange for a joyful love,
  a love of dancing through the night,
  of singing, 
  of holding one's love close,
  a love of the wind, 
  the beach and the sea.
yellow for a free, happy love,
  a love of butterflies and birds, 
  and flowers,
  a love of falling leaves 
  in the autumn. 
green for an early love,
  a love of trees, of grass, 
  of cats and dogs and pigs,
  a love of turkeys 
  and the hot sun on a summer day.
blue for a quiet love,
  a love of mirrors and reflections, 
  of holding hands 
  and of lying in the grass 
  looking off into the sky.

He wanted to be a rainbow of lovely colors. He wanted to love all the world and all creatures young or old.

One day as he walked, he heard an erie song of sadness. He was frightened because it was unlike any sound he had ever heard. It was every pain he had ever felt folded into each note, and yet the song was as beautiful as his love of colors.

He ran through the woods until he found the source of this strange music. There before him was a beautiful yellow bird, sleek and slim, a bird larger than he had ever seen, and yet beautifully proportioned. Its eyes were those of a wise man thousands of years old.

The bird spoke to him. It said in a mellow voice: "Oh young being, oh feeling being, oh being of sorrow and love, speak to me and share your plight if you will."

Then the bird was quiet. It's eyes looked to some unknown planet, billions of miles away.

He waited for the bird to continue, but it did not. Yet he felt there was more to be said. Where had the bird come from? Why was the bird so sad? How was it that the bird could speak to him?

He stood for a long time admiring the beauty and serenity of the bird. Then without thinking he spoke: "Be my friend yellow bird, let your sorrow be mine, let mine be yours, let your love and your joy be mine, and mine yours. Tell me of your plight and I will seek help for you."

As soon as he began to speak, the bird came to life. It's wings quivered slightly, its eyes watched him with intense interest and concern, its head turned from side to side.

When the young man finished, the bird sang to him in words he had never heard, yet felt their meaning in every part of his body. The meaning that he felt was: "I am thousands of years old, yet I am young. To you I am an enormous bird, and yet I am small and vulnerable. My life is in the skies between the galaxies. I was born billions of miles from here before your planet was, and yet if my wing does not mend, I will soon perish."

The bird unfolded the wing so the young man could see. It was bent and discolored. He built a fire near by and brought a large pot from his cave. He warmed water in the pot and poured it over the injured wing while the bird slowly moved it. He put healing herbs in the water to help the wing get better.

After a week of this, the bird's wing was no longer bent or discolored, but it was too weak to fly much. However, after another week, the wing was well. The young man was completely exhausted. For two weeks he had done nothing but tend the birds wounds. He had hardly had time even to converse with the bird.

The bird sang to him: "Now I am well and it is a sadness that I must leave, for I shall never see you again. And I can give you a gift which is truly for you, though you will never see it."

The man looked sadly at the bird for he loved the bird and he did not want it to leave so soon. The bird continued: "You will know me by knowing yourself. I have seen man and I know that he can love deeply. In a only a few million years I will return with a gift of the mind that will free man from his hatred and confusions. Yet if he would he could free himself as you have."

"I love and am loved by you" sang the bird as it vanished.

THE END