The Joys of Becoming What We Truly Are

Dear readers - in the past few posts, we've introduced you to Mark Bittner, the writer, and Judy Irving, the filmmaker. Judy's film and Mark's book (both titled The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill) tell us not just about these intriguing avians of San Francisco - but also of a human life lived in honest awareness.

We humans have the capacity to wear many masks, and we may sometimes follow a maze of false paths. We may find ourselves so involved with the material aspect of life that we do not realize how lost from our true essence we have become. Mark Bittner didn't want to fall into that trap, so he wandered and lived on the streets for more than 15 years, seeking his true calling, looking for clues to solve the mysteries of life, and knowing that our spiritual existance endures beyond all things material. Throughout it all, he sought to remain true to himself and to his values.

Mark made the conscious decision not to jump through hoops that would build a career and lifestyle that was false for him. Yet he was not lazy or incompetent in any way, although some who didn't look deeply enough may have judged him to be so. In his relationship with the parrots, he worked harder than many people do in their daily jobs. He meticulously cared for the sick and wounded birds, fed the flock several times a day, and recorded his observations of the individuals, both in writing and with photographs.

Mark's writing conveys a pure and honest soul who plays no games and wears few masks, if any. He seems present in the moment, and there is a timelessness about him. As if he has always been here, or at least is in touch with that part of the inner self which is timeless and always in the here and now. Mark comes across as gentle and loving, deep and kind, warm and funny. He makes no efforts to conceal his flaws, but he isn't overly self-effacing or conspicuously humble either. He is who he is, and he seems neither proud nor ashamed of that. One cannot help but like him and the message his writing brings.

"For many years, I'd felt as though I were on a death march across an endless desert. And although, in the end, I received everything I asked for, I know that life is not about getting what you want. You can want the wrong things. Because I'd once invested all my energy into becoming something I wasn't suited to be - a musician - I lost my way for the longest time. Each of us has a true nature, the real laws of our being, and that inner nature will always receive what is appropriate to it as long as we're honest with ourselves..."

-Mark Bittner, in his book The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill