The Thirty Birds
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” — Rumi
There is an old Sufi story told by the Persian poet Farid ud-Din Attar called The Conference of the Birds.
The world had become dangerous and disordered. The birds were frightened. They felt leaderless. Everywhere they looked they saw confusion, conflict, vanity, greed, and instability. So they gathered together to decide what should be done.
The hoopoe bird, the wisest among them, told the others they must go in search of the great Simurgh, the divine king they believed could save them.
The journey would be difficult. To find the Simurgh, the birds had to cross seven valleys: the Valley of Search, the Valley of Love, the Valley of Knowledge, and the Valley of Detachment. Each valley took away another illusion. Some birds turned back because they preferred comfort. Others were overcome by fear. Some got distracted by beauty or status. Some could not let go of their ideas about themselves.
The journey slowly unraveled them. By the end, only thirty birds remained. Exhausted and transformed, they finally arrived before the Simurgh expecting to encounter a great divine being waiting for them in glory.
Instead, they found a mirror.
In that mirror they saw themselves.
“Simurgh,” in Persian, means “thirty birds.”
The lesson was not that a distant ruler would come to save them. Instead, something sacred had grown within their own community through the hard work of traveling, letting go of illusions, suffering, and staying together.
I’ve been thinking about this story as Pentecost approaches in the Christian tradition. Pentecost is often described as the time when the Spirit came like fire and people began to understand each other across languages and divisions. Around the same time, Jewish communities celebrate Shavuot, remembering the giving of the Torah at Sinai—a story about revelation shared by a whole people, not just individuals. In the Muslim world, pilgrims gather for Eid al-Adha and Hajj, where differences in wealth, status, and nationality are set aside before God. Different traditions. Similar wisdom.
People do not survive by domination alone. We survive through relationships, humility, insight, and the hard work of learning how to belong to each other again.
This feels especially important now because our world is becoming more divided. Algorithms separate us into groups. Politics encourages outrage. Wealth keeps people apart. Fear makes our circle of care smaller. Many people feel spiritually lost, emotionally tired, and very alone.
Beneath all this is the hope that one powerful person will come to save us: the right politician, billionaire, technology, ideology, or strong leader.
But old wisdom traditions point us in a different direction. Real change happens in relationships. The Spirit does not come to people who keep to themselves and cling to certainty. It moves through communities that can listen, grieve, let go, and change together.
That does not mean community is easy. The birds lost a lot on their journey: their illusions, their attachment to status and comfort, their certainty, and their dreams of control. Real change usually costs us something, and sometimes it costs a lot.
Maybe the most important spiritual task right now is not to become more certain. Maybe it is to learn, slowly and imperfectly, how to stay. How to support each other through the valleys, even when we do not know what is waiting at the end.
The thirty birds did not find the world they expected. They found themselves, changed by the journey.
I’m not sure that’s exactly comforting. But maybe it’s enough.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What illusions or certainties might you be carrying that no longer serve your growth?
Where do you notice the temptation to withdraw from community rather than remain present within it?
What would it mean for you to become more capable of relationship in this moment of history?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Journey Together
God, the world feels fragmented and loud. Many of us are tired of fear, tired of outrage, tired of carrying uncertainty about the future. Teach us how to remain together without demanding perfection from one another. Strip away what no longer serves love. Loosen our attachment to certainty and control. Help us become people capable of listening deeply, grieving honestly, and walking gently beside one another through the valleys ahead. And when we are tempted to wait for someone powerful to save us, remind us that your Spirit still moves through ordinary communities willing to stay open to one another. Give us courage for the journey. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
The Valley of Detachment
Today, notice one thing you are clinging to too tightly.
Perhaps it is certainty.
Perhaps it is outrage.
Perhaps it is the need to be right, admired, secure, or in control.
Spend a few quiet moments asking yourself: What would become possible if I loosened my grip, even slightly?
Then reach intentionally toward relationship today. Send a message. Share a meal. Listen carefully to someone. Join a gathering. Pray with others. Walk with someone through their grief or uncertainty.
The wisdom traditions remind us that transformation rarely happens alone.
We become more human together.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
May 27, 2026, 12pm ET - FREE WEBINAR - I will be hosting an online experience titled “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination: A live experiential webinar with Jackie Sussman." Jackie, a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
There are moments when a spiritual path calls not only to the mind, but to the body, the voice, and the ancient memory carried deep within us. This summer, internationally acclaimed folk artist and teacher Alessandra Belloni is leading a pilgrimage along the Amalfi Coast centered on the Black Madonna, sacred chant, ritual drumming, and devotional dance rooted in centuries-old traditions of Southern Italy. Participants will visit ancient sacred sites, learn healing rhythms and chants passed down through generations of women, and explore the wisdom of the Divine Feminine through music, movement, and ritual. If this stirs something within you, you can learn more at Alessandra Belloni’s official website.
My colleague, Dr. Tim Eberhart, is offering a summer course that I wish I could take! Regenerative Mission & Ministry: Ecological Practices for Land Repair is a 7-week course for those seeking to integrate eco-theological reflection, earth-based spiritual wisdoms, and regenerative design principles for land repair. Participants will journey as a community of learners through a cultivated curriculum that incorporates selected readings, video instruction, ecological practices, and more aimed at healing social and ecological relations for the sake of mutual flourishing. It starts on June 3, so sign up soon if you’re interested!
The University of Victoria (UVic) offers an online course, A Meta-Relational Approach to AI. The course is designed for participants who are interested in thinking about AI in ways that challenge modernity’s extractive programming patterns in both humans and machines. The next cohort starts in NEXT WEEK. Registrations are open.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
As Anne Lamott says, "The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty."
I'll meet you in the field.