A certain man noticed that the hummingbird taking up residence in the birdhouse in his front yard began to fly violently into his car after he would return home. After realizing it was not an isolated incident, he began to pay closer attention to the bird’s behavior. He noticed the bird would fly violently into the car, but not just any part of the vehicle, but particularly, only the mirrors, glass, and chrome parts. He did a little research about hummingbirds and discovered that they are very territorial and will defend their turf with great zeal. This led him to understand that the hummingbird was not going crazy each time it crashed into his car, but because it only flew into the parts of the car that gave a clear reflection, the bird actually thought he was engaging the enemy, when in reality, who he thought was the enemy was really himself.

The hummingbird did not understand that he was the enemy and that is why he continued to fly violently into the car. Usually, what we see in others who infuriate us and cause us to become angry, judgmental, and even violent, is just a reflection of what is actually on the inside of us. Instead of pointing the finger, or slandering others, we need to take a “checkup from the neck up” and make sure we are not like the hummingbird: quick to defend unauthorized territory and perpetuating repeated mistakes, accidents, and head-on collisions. What this story reveals to us is that the real enemy is exactly that: In-a-me.