Tippy and The Buddha

Tippy was a prenamed Parakeet that was given to me by a very sweet old lady from my parents church when I was a boy about 8 or 9. This was the most amazing sweet and lovable and loving pet I ever had as a child. (My parents never allowed me to have a dog or a cat growing up). So, Tippy was the closest to an amazing spiritual teacher in Pet form I ever had. Last night I was walking into my bedroom and noticed my wife had moved the wooden reclining Buddha statue next to a perfect replica of Tippy she had bought without knowing about Tippy my childhood friend. So, the Buddha and replica Tippy's head were near to each other. I realized then that Tippy had been a "Maha Kala" pet in that he had been one of my spiritual teachers to move me towards infinite compassion and Buddhist thought. It was a truly amazing moment for me to realize this. So, all I could feel was gratitude to life and God for such good training. One day Tippy, who was such a friend he walked all over the house regularly on my shoulder or spit seeds at one of my toenails in a mating ritual common to male parakeets (he thought my toenails likely were his mate).

Anyway, one day I went outside to get the mail from the mailbox and Tippy was on my shoulder and when I said, "Tippy!" when I realized he was there flew away. I chased him on my bicycle but could not catch up to him and was unhappy for some time. But always I will remember my little friend getting onto my finger, nuzzling my face, spitting seeds at my toenails while I laughed at how amazing my little friend was back then.