The first sounds I heard this morning were birds chirping. High-pitched happy sounds. And I smiled in reaction and was filled with joy. That kind of all-pervasive joy that gives way to big existential hope and small acts of kindness. That joy that has you believing that only good is on the horizon. But within seconds, I shook my head, as if waking myself up.
Don’t the birds know we are at war?
How could I have forgotten? I washed my face and made my way to the kitchen to make coffee. And other morning sounds began arose. The boiling kettle. The garbage trucks. Construction. Honking horns.
And still the birds kept chirping their happy morning song.
As I read the news and sipped my coffee and tried to make sense of senselessness and worried about my kids and my loved ones.
And still the birds kept chirping. And I was envious of their joy. Born from ignorance, I assumed. Oh to be a bird…
Scientists say that animals are actually very sensitive, that they pick up on vibrations and energy and they can predict when there will be earthquakes or other natural disasters. So, what if these tiny winged creatures actually do feel some of the heaviness of the world? And what if they still sing? Maybe there is a lesson there…
So I started humming along with the TLC song that had just come up on my playlist. And wouldn’t you know it, but my chest un-clenched a bit. And I bebopped my way to the kitchen for a second cup of coffee and looked out my window to the still dark morning, and said a silent thank you to the birds.
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