Today I took a day off work to watch a baby seagull that had fallen out of its nest die....

Last night a very young seagull fell from its nest onto the ground right outside my bed room.

As it cannot yet fly it is powerless to get back to its nest. The mother is nearby calling out in worry but there is absolutely nothing that the mother can do to save its offspring.

The baby seagull will either die a slow lingering death of starvation or it will get mauled by a cat.

When I go outside my property and approach the baby seagull the mother swoops down in an attempt to scare me away from her baby.

But it doesn't matter what the mother does, the baby seagull is doomed.

So I decided to take a day of work and sit by my window watching this drama play out. Currently the baby seagull is extremely distressed and no longer has the energy to do more than whimper, but it can still move about.

The mother seagull is now extremely distressed because she is witnessing her offspring die helpless and alienated.

Even though work is important, it is also important to take time to appreciate the important, grandiose things like life and death and the abject powerlessness of parents as they witness their young die.