Compassion - do I have enough? 4

Currently, I am trying to demonstrate to my neighbor that the pigeons are living beings to be respected. I am doing this by treating them with respect myself and hoping that she spots my back yard activity. I have been waiting for them to finish a bath on our doorstep before going past, smiling at them and greeting them with a welcome message as they fly down, standing at my windows as they feed to show that I care about them. I am hoping that my neighbor will soften her heart and learn to see these birds as individual beings rather than a mass pestilence.

As I read about the affects of karma, I worry that if this does not happen, our neighbor may return as a bird that can find no peace herself one day. I can see how once I would have reacted the same way, if I had viewed the birds to be a 'problem' rather than 'living beings' though. It makes me see how much Buddhism has taught me and how much others have yet to learn.

However, I also see that I too must learn far more - because I can not currently use my understanding and experience in such a way to solve the problem. Whilst I can now see the problem as it is, along with some of the possible affects that might run on from matters, the compassion that I do already have leads me to want to rescue my neighbor from the possible karmic outcome. I feel somewhat stranded at this point, and unable to progress into actually doing anything useful about the situation to help either the pigeons or my neighbor.

Whilst I DO truly want both neighbor and pigeons to be contented, I can as yet find no solution from this. Maybe I have not enough compassion to see the answer, or perhaps I merely have to be patient for a solution to surface. I seem to be at the stage of seeing a situation from all viewpoints, but am not yet accomplished enough to know how to act on this information.