little birds
In 2021, I sat in the car in the parking lot of the neuropsychologist’s office where my daughter was finishing up her testing. I was feeling bummed about being there, at the appointment, in the rainy parking lot, just generally feeling low. I called my dad to chat since it had been a long time since we'd connected, and as we talked, I watched a little bird jump along the branches of a tall bush next to the fence in front of my car.
It dawned on me that this is what the little in life and nature is all about, being present while human happenings and drama are unfolding. Humans have a way of focusing so much on our experiences externally and internally that we neglect to notice much further out around us, in this case, nature. We may see the tree, the bush, the bird and think, "Oh, that's nice." But if we tune in just a bit more, if we see the bird, and watch the bird, and decide to focus on the bird a bit, we might find that something shifts inside of us, that we, for a very slight moment, feel a sense of peace, togetherness, and not-so-aloneness.
A bird flitted by my window recently. It was a sun break during my workday. I was working from home, and next to my desk is a window overlooking trees that are set away from the house, separated by a driveway. Right next to the window is a rhododendron bush, which is especially beautiful when in bloom. Right now, it is still in just-leaf form, beautiful, but no blooms yet. The bird was flying near the bush and then came closer to the window. I recognized the bird as a visitor, and said, “Oh, hello," because it’s rare when a bird comes so close to the window.
I choose to notice the little things in nature because I love nature and find joy in those little moments and sights, especially when going through the days of life. What comes to me is the statement, "It was a day." Right? Like, yes, another day, or yes, one of those days, or, yes, a boring day. But, if you were to stop and say, "It was a day, and I saw this little bird bopping around on the bush outside my car," wouldn't it make the day just slightly better? I know there are plenty of people who would say no, but to those of you who think, well, yeah, actually, I saw a little bird today too, or noticed something different in my backyard, and it woke me up a bit, I say, Yes! You get what I mean. And I want to cultivate this even more, to notice more and find creative ways to interact with those little things, to build a deeper relationship with them, because it can bring joy when a day is otherwise just "a day."
