Golden Eagle or Turkey Vulture?

I was mountain biking yesterday and saw a huge raptor lift off from a meadow and fly into a nearby tree. Thinking it was a golden eagle, I dropped my bike and excitedly approached for a closer view. What greeted me was alarming--wrinkled red head and beady eyes looked down from a pine limb, giving me a cursory look before ripping into something held in its talons.

"Geegads, that's not a golden eagle, it's a turkey vulture!" I cringed and looked away, heading back to my bike. Then, a moment of insight hit me--I had emailed an Inner Constellation Blessing* that morning encapsulating what I had just witnessed:

Nothing dies, everything transforms. When this is known, we suffer a little less.

Um, hello, the disgusting vulture is basically the mascot here, showing very viscerally the above truth. Yet, I turned away. How often are situations in life like this--something beautiful presents and I'm attracted, I run towards it (ie, "It's a golden eagle!") but something difficult or ugly presents ("Yuck, a vulture!"), and I'm repulsed, I push it away?

Nature is one of my greatest teachers. Working at a local wildlife center for a few years, here's what I learned about turkey vultures: they are incredible garbage collectors, keeping an area clean for miles and are the only birds that have a sense of smell, also they have highly potent stomach acid that breaks down organic matter in amazingly quick speeds, so they are ready to dive into the task at hand again and again. At the wildlife center when we fed the vultures, we had to wear rain coats because if they perceived us as a threat, they had the ability to project acid filled vomit amazing distances! OK, now that I have your attention, aren't you glad we have these incredible birds to keep our outside environment clean and sparkly?

Vultures are supreme garbage collectors. After receiving my vulture friend's message, I turned back around, faced the bird and watched him enjoying his ugly self in the tree. I appreciated and gave thanks for its incredible abilities to transform. Then, after shaking off my heebie jeebies, I hopped back on my bike. As I rode, I got to thinking--once "trash" is identified, it can be gathered up and disposed of responsibly, it's not revisited and retrieved from the trash bin--it's left on the curb for transformation. Thank you, dear turkey vulture for the confirmation of Inner Constellation Truth #2-- indeed, nothing dies, everything is transformed. I'll identify my garbage, be free of it and  leave it to you, my friend.