Mindfulness and the Woodpecker

I saw this video the other day on Facebook, but it was not until today that I really thought more about it.  It is quite an amazing thing to see--a woodpecker hanging on to the side of a car window while the driver drives through Chicago on his way to work.

We have many woodpeckers in our yard.  They can be very annoying.  We even have holes in our house to prove they have been there.  On more than one occasion I have stuck my head out the window to attempt to frighten them away as they hammer their little beaks into the siding of our house.  They are very bold, and sometimes just keep hammering away even when I am only three or four feet away trying to shoo them away.

Yet, they are quite a beautiful bird too.  I see the large pileated woodpeckers hammering away at the trees in our woods. The funny thing is that it is not the large woodpeckers that seem so bold and peck on the side of our house, but the smaller ones.

When I first watched this video, it was mesmerizing to see how long that little woodpecker hung on to the car's open window.  I thought the wind would cause him to fly away.  Then the bird decided to fly into the car.  That is where I became a little concerned.  I pictured the bird flying around, feathers flying, and pooping everywhere because it was so scared.  But no.  The bird just hopped around on the driver's shoulders and chest, seemingly without a care in the world.  That little woodpecker was not annoying but quite amazing.  It is also very sweet the way the driver responded to the situation. 

So back to today and recollecting that video.  I could not help but think about how much those woodpeckers are like my panic during a panic attack.   I have a good imagination, which when I am having a panic attack is not a good thing.  Maybe I can imagine those little woodpeckers next time I have a panic attack, or for that matter any annoying thoughts and feelings that arise.  How might I treat those feelings differently if I thought of them as woodpeckers?  What if I treated them like the driver treated the little woodpecker that rode with him through the streets of Chicago?

Here is that video of the woodpecker in the car window.  I found it on YouTube.  I bet this guy filming the event never thought it would be something that helped someone else deal with panic attacks.  I must insert a smiley face here.  :)