On walking home from his job one day, a man observed bloom in the trees and enjoyed some restful breaths after working. However, as he rounded the corner to his own street, he was surprised to see a Dodo. It’s figure, size and gait were unmistakable, even he was sure to trust his own eyes.
In curiosity, the bird approached first. The man made a few indistinct noises, similar to those that he would share with the domesticated animals that lived around the area. There were many dogs and cats around, they seemed to enjoy the best of suburbia. Some were open to saying hello in their own ways while others were wisely timid. Yet this bird, examined the stranger up close, and leaned in wide eyed and daft beaked.
The feathers, the eyes and the general makeup of the dodo were not remarkable and seemed befit a foal or an emu of our time. Unlike the platypus, it seemed more settled within the categories of Nature’s more often trusted forms. It was a large bird and could possibly rival a 4-year-old human child in height. Stocked with a plump rotundness, it was a flightless bird. In pinching himself, the fellow thought that a miracle must have found him this strange day.
As he went to walk on, he trusted that only magic could have allowed such a being to have wandered there. As he went, the dodo followed and eventually sat calmly outside of his own house. In the sprinkler it liked to play, and the man left some water in a bowl outside to drink. The door he left ajar, in case for some reason the creature felt the need to come inside.
Elsewhere, on a similar hypothetical world, a dodo was animated from the clay by a scientific team. How they marveled at their own success, their calculations had been correct. They had managed to touch life in a way, so that a dodo might grace their world again. From hypothesis, to proof, in the place that they anticipated their result, a living Dodo now stood!
For a time, it was celebrated. Then, that scientific team found new projects to work on and the dodo resurgence became another advance that was yesterday’s news. So, for profit, an industrialist saw an opportunity to create jobs. He put the dodo to farm, like chickens of our day. Yet, somehow, they were not even meant to be there at all.
In the first world mentioned, thankfully, that man was able to shine a light on the miracle of the dodo that visited his life. Because they were able to respect the new life, somehow returned to the world, they were blessed with many others. As wise custodians of God’s gentle friends, they were supported to build a worthy home for many that longed to stand once more.
What about the other world? Well, eventually they saw the absurdity of eating dodo! Insight washed over them like a flash of awakening. As their science went on to develop, they were able to learn about the other kind of world also. They realized how many chances nature had been giving them all along. But alas, no wonderful creature would risk landing upon that hazardous world again.
As they stepped into alignment with nature, they started to see the same bounty that had likewise filled the others’ path. In sanity, they re-established the harmony of ecosystems and put unnecessary conflict to rest. Yes, their science kept discerning more and more advances, correctly too, however now they were estimating in line with nature rather than against it. By then, they may have been playing catch up by a considerable margin, and still are apparently, yet they were on a much better track.
Beyond the Space Race, Arms Race, or even the Chip-Set race, let’s pray our leaders don’t let us down in the Dodo Race. Who knows what marvels Nature may share with us next? Let’s hope they, whomever they might be, will feel welcome to place their steps alongside our own here on our world.
Tristan James Johns 