A Small Lesson from the Long-Tailed Tit

Recently, I was talking with a few friends who read my Snippets.

They told me this lovely little story about long-tailed tits and wondered whether it might make a good Snippet. Well, I thought so too.

It originally comes from a book by Hans Dorrestijn.

Two long-tailed tits are sitting happily together on a branch.

One says to the other:

“What a wonderful long-tailed tit you are.”

The other looks up and replies:

“Yes, thank you. I am. And so are you.”

I loved it.

Because most of us are actually quite good at seeing how lovely and special other people are.

You tell a friend she looks beautiful. We admire someone’s courage. You tell your children you’re proud of them. We thank someone for being kind or thoughtful, or simply for being there for us.

But how often do you include yourself?

When was the last time you thought:
I actually did that really well.
I’m proud of myself for doing that.
I was pretty brave today.

Or simply:

I actually quite like myself.

Being kind to yourself doesn’t mean thinking you’re better than anyone else.
It simply means not leaving yourself out.

So perhaps we can all be a long-tailed tit every now and then.

Say something kind to someone today.

And while you’re at it, give yourself a compliment too.

My friends told me they do this quite often.
And yes, they regularly make themselves laugh in the process.

But they’ve also noticed that it has changed something in the way they see themselves, and even in their relationship with each other.

My husband and I have started doing it too.
And you know what?

It’s fun!

Photo: buitenleven.nl