Why Birds Fly in Circles (And What They’re Teaching You About Your Own Life)
Everything we see around us teaches something if our hearts are open
Hey friend,
I watched a hawk circle overhead this morning while I was making coffee, and it got me thinking—why do birds do that? Why the circles? Why not just fly straight to where they’re going?
Turns out, there’s something in their apparent aimlessness that we desperately need to understand.
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The Practical Reason (That Becomes a Metaphor)
Birds circle for thermals—those rising columns of warm air that give them lift without burning energy. They’re not wasting time up there. They’re working smarter, not harder. A hawk that circles for ten minutes can glide for miles without flapping once.
They look like they’re going nowhere, but they’re actually gaining altitude. They’re preparing for the journey ahead.
Sound familiar?
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When Progress Doesn’t Look Like a Straight Line
You’ve been circling something in your life, haven’t you? A decision, a problem, a dream. You keep coming back to it from different angles, and you’ve been beating yourself up because it feels like you’re not making progress.
But what if you’re doing exactly what the birds do? What if circling isn’t stalling—it’s rising?
Every time you come back to that thing, you’re seeing it from a higher perspective. You’re gathering information, building strength, preparing for the moment when you’ll finally glide forward with hardly any effort at all.
The circle isn’t the destination. It’s how you gain the altitude to reach it.
*“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — Lao Tzu*
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The Flock Knows Something You Forgot
Watch starlings sometime—thousands of them moving together in those impossible, swirling murmurations. Each bird is following simple rules: stay close, match speed, avoid collisions. But together, they create something breathtaking.
They circle to stay connected. They circle to stay safe. They circle because the pattern itself is protective.
You don’t always have to know where you’re going. Sometimes the wisdom is in staying in the movement, in the rhythm, in the presence of what’s happening right now.
Your life doesn’t have to look linear to be meaningful. Sometimes the spiral is the point.
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What Looks Like Chaos Is Actually Calibration
Before migration, birds circle in staging areas—gathering, coordinating, waiting for the right wind conditions. To someone just glancing up, it looks random. But they’re calibrating. They’re synchronizing their internal compasses with the earth’s magnetic field.
They’re making sure they’re ready.
This is what your “stuck” periods are. You’re not frozen—you’re calibrating. You’re letting your internal compass adjust to where you actually need to go, not where you thought you should go.
The circling is the recalibration. Trust it.
*“Not all those who wander are lost.” — J.R.R. Tolkien*
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The Circle as Sacred Pattern
Birds of prey circle to see more clearly. From above, the whole landscape reveals itself. What looked like separate problems from the ground are actually part of the same ecosystem when you rise high enough.
Your circling—that thing you keep returning to in your thoughts, your prayers, your journaling—it’s not obsession. It’s perspective-gathering. You’re trying to see the whole picture before you make your move.
And that’s wise.
The circle has always been sacred. It represents wholeness, cycles, return. You’re not going in circles—you’re completing something. You’re honoring the spiral nature of growth.
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When to Stop Circling
There’s a moment when the thermal stops giving lift. When the wind shifts. When it’s time to commit to a direction and fly.
They don’t circle forever. They circle until they’re ready.
You’ll know when it’s time. You’ll feel it—that internal shift from “I’m gathering” to “I’m ready.” The circling will stop feeling productive and start feeling like avoidance.
That’s your signal. Not before.
Don’t let anyone rush you out of your circle before you’ve gained enough altitude. But also, don’t hide in the circle when you know you’re ready to soar.
*“You were born with wings, why prefer to crawl through life?” — Rumi*
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The Practice: Circle Watching Meditation
This week, when you notice yourself “circling” something—a problem, a worry, a decision—try this:
1. **Acknowledge it**: “I’m circling this right now.”
1. **Get curious**: “What am I gathering from this angle?”
1. **Check in**: “Am I gaining altitude or burning fuel?”
1. **Feel for the shift**: “Is this productive spiraling or avoidance?”
1. **Trust the timing**: “I’ll know when I’m ready to fly.”
Take a literal walk in a circle if it helps. Watch actual birds. Let their wisdom teach you patience with your own process.
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The next time you see birds circling, smile. They’re showing you that sometimes the most direct path forward starts with going in circles.
You’re not lost. You’re rising.
With love,
Paolo ❤️