Does Size Matter?

Although the answers to those questions remain a mystery to this day, I am convinced that size does not matter (except when someone offers me a slice of cheesecake - yum!).

My wife and I witnessed an awesome display of aviation the other day. Two hawks were flying around across the street, swooping right over us at times. They were trying to establish a new nest.

Usually, hawks fly somewhere "up there", distant silhouettes against the blinding brightness of the sky. But on this occasion, they were flying low enough for us to make out the colors beneath their wings: the deep, dark brown and the sandy tan feathers.

And low enough to see the colors of the little birds (sparrows, perhaps?) giving chase. It was an even match, or so it seemed. Two sparrows versus two hawks. OK, perhaps not completely even. Each hawk looked big enough to gulp down a sparrow in a single chomp, like a person might swallow a grape. Come to think of it, this match did not look any more even than if I had been placed in a ring with a well-fed sumo wrestler.

Yet there they were, two big hawks, graceful and majestic, the scourge of field mice everywhere, managing impossible maneuvers to evade the slightest touch of the tiny sparrows.

Why? Because sparrows are more agile than hawks, and can more easily position themselves for attack. Because sparrows are less fragile than hawks, and do not fear feather damage to the same degree. Because sparrows are quicker than hawks, so they can more easily retreat if they have to.

Sadly for the hawks, their size was of little comfort against the superior skills of the sparrows. And sadly for us, it appears we will NOT be watching the comings and goings of hawks nesting across the street.

Does size matter? No. But if you want to make that slice of cheesecake just a bit bigger, I would be much obliged.

About The Author

David Leonhardt is The Happy Guy. Read more articles like this at: http://TheHappyGuy.com/self-actualization-articles.html. Or sign up for the free online Happy Class at: http://TheHappyGuy.com/self-actualization-happy-class.html

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