When reading the title of the literary text I had chosen I assumed the reading was about some sort of Spanish conquistador. So when the very first line was to consider the humming bird for a moment I was caught by surprise. I realize now that by being different from what I had expected the reading grabbed my attention right from the very beginning. The next couple of lines then elaborated upon the title of the reading for me explaining how the (white men) Spaniards that had arrived called these humming birds flying jewels. They had not yet experienced such a small, but majestic bird as they were native to only America. 

The reading goes into very deep analysis of the humming bird after this point. It begins to tell of the amazing feats that the humming bird is able to accomplish. For instance, the humming bird can fly up to sixty miles an hour! They can even fly backwards, as well as fly over five-hundred miles without pausing for a rest. Those amazing things are only capable to these unique birds; however, it has a big cost. The humming birds burn themselves out extremely quickly. 

When the humming birds stop doing activities, their heart rates slow to almost a halt. If they do not reengage themselves in time, then they will die. It is something of a curse that comes with the blessings of their amazing feats. Due to this harsh lifestyle the hummingbirds have lesser lifespans than the average beings. Despite the fact that they have hearts that are oh so similar to us humans. Imagine being born on September 5, 2016 and dying on September 8, 2016! However, you still lived up to your full potential in that time. The reason that the humming bird tends to die out usually is from the intense strain the heart goes through, despite being the size of a baby’s fingernail. When you combine that with the affect that gravity and inertia has on their tiny bodies it is easy to see why the hummingbirds’ lifespan is so short.

After telling of the marvels of hummingbirds the reading goes on to relate all other kinds of animals, etc. It tells of how each creature has about two billion heartbeats in their lifetime! Thinking about that limited amount of heartbeats tends to leave me as a reader a tad bit worried about my lifespan. As I am constantly active and playing sports sort of like a mini hummingbird myself. However, the book does say that a heart can choose not to use up all its beats as quickly like a tortoise and live for about two-hundred years. Which may seem like a better alternative to the humming bird, but it would have to be relative to how you want to live your lifestyle. I know for a fact I personally would not be able to sit around doing nothing all day or move as slow as molasses. 

While the tough decision the heart has to make in terms of short vs long life there could be alternate way to go about beating. As the reading brings out to the reader the blue whale and its heart. It has the biggest heart in the world according to the reading. So big in fact that little children could go inside of the animal’s heart and play around through it! Yet these humongous creatures live in an intense balance of fast and slow. The whale is said to grow two-hundred pounds a day! It grows for about eight years before it disappears from humans delving deep into the waters of the ocean. However, humans have been able to know about their existence from their loud piercing cries that travel long distances in the water. 

So the main message of the whole reading kind of ends with how all of us creatures are so alike yet so different. It tells of the different hearts that each creature has, but how each heart lives on its own. Never to make physical contact with another heart. Yet each creature has been known to make mental or spiritual connections with their hearts. With the example being of a father cooking pancakes for his children and wife. Or a two blue whales swimming together down into the depths of the ocean. 
