Bomber and Slim
By Theresa Shay
The hummingbird feeder on our deck is patrolled by a squat juvenile who dive-bombs any and every other hummer who approaches. After he (it could be a “she”) chases them off, even when the feeder is empty, he goes and sits on the garden fence twenty feet away, 100% testosterone and the spitting image of his father.
The other day as I sat on the porch contemplating how to make the next graphic, another juvenile approached. Long and slim, he (it may have been a “she”) hovered 12 inches from the red rim of the feeder and did not land. He looked in each direction. Both of us were on the lookout for Dive-Bomber. But the bomber did not appear.
Slim, however, did not move to the feeder to take nourishment. Instead, he continued to scout, pivoting 360 degrees, on alert. Slim enacted multiple repetitions of this scanning, continued to glance toward the feeder, and remained in waiting a short distance away.
In fact, Slim held his defensive posture for at least a minute (an eternity at hummingbird speed), long enough for me to take note of this behavior. In time, Bomber appeared around the side of the house and, as expected, chased Slim away.
Why, I wondered, didn’t Slim just slip in to the feeder when no one was around and take his fill? There was plenty of time for it. Instead, he waited and watched, vigilant, on guard, unfulfilled, and then fled when his adversary appeared.
Humans behave this same way due to mental prints, fluctuations of the mind, known as vrittis. These produce repeated behavior in the body, and anxiety in the mind.
Habit, trauma, patterns, fear of being chased off yet again, put us on alert. So cautious we are that even when there is an opening, we fail to embrace the opportunity to move toward the sweetness. We are living out, through our minds, a previous experience that once caused anxiety but which is not present now.
In addition to being connected to the past, anxiety also fixates on the future. The anxious moments are flooded with thoughts of what will happen, whether there will be enough, what preparation could prevent the undesired envisioned future, whether our adversary is about to confront us. Ultimately, anxiety stems from doubting whether the Universe will show up with support we would love to rely upon.
Will the Universe show up? For sure it will. Universal Energy and Consciousness show up eternally. We are the ones who step away, lost in the mind’s activity.
Relieving anxiety is about learning to track what is actually present, available, here and now, rather than identifying with the vrittis that play through the mind. If, for example, I was Slim the Hummingbird, unattached to my vrittis, I’d be able to scan the scene, observe that Bomber was away for the moment, and take my fill at the feeder. What a much better experience than consuming my energy protecting myself from a threat that hasn’t yet appeared and simultaneously getting nothing good to eat.
This takes courage. We must learn to trust: first, that this moment is unique from the last; second, that as the journey unfolds, we will be able to navigate the terrain; and third, that some great power is playing a part, not just the power of the hormonal Bomber.
Such clear presence takes conscious effort, being able to look at the world as it is to identify what is present and what is not. The strength to decide not to move back into thoughts about a threat that may have once been there, as well as the strength not to attempt to predict what future awaits, is cultivated in a mind which sustains calm presence in Now.
Trusting. Focusing. Relaxing. Nothing to defend. This moves us toward the sweetness and is an important element of soothing anxiety.
Join TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania’s Soothing Anxiety Challenge in September 2025.
Theresa Shay is the founding director of TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania, where she teaches weekly yoga and meditation online and trains others to teach TriYoga®. Each week, she shares wisdom cultivated from decades of TriYoga study and practice.
Learn more about her here. Theresa can be reached at Theresa@PennsylvaniaYoga.com. Find her on Instagram @theresa_of_triyoga for more inspiration and light.