They are poetry in the sky, a bright flash joy amid the palm branches on my favorite island, a source of song and noise and chatter. We watch them on the wing and dare to dream a bit- how would it be to climb the cloudbank on a windswept day? They are glorious creatures. Who wou ever cage them?
I do.
I became a bird owner by accident.
A clever green parrot found us.
A talking parrot.
A witty, nippy, endearing parrot.
We never found his owner, so he became ours.
We called him Mojo. He was a magical and smarter
than you can imagine. We loved him and gave him
a good life. In turn, he filled our home with his
amazingly clear speaking voice and his raucous cries and calls.
He greeted us coming and going. He became a part of our family,
so when he died unexpectedly, my heart was broken. My daughter
(Mojo loved her best) and I wept for the loss of him.
And within a month we had both purchased baby parrots.
We had become "bird people".
Since then my flock has increased. We have 2 parrots
and a pair of parakeets.
Birds speak to my heart. Caged or free, they sing their songs.
They are eager for companionship, clever and capable.
They are splendid & beautiful
and they can teach us many things.
The Bible suggests we should temper our worry, that we
should have faith in things both great and small.
Even the sparrows are provided for and are known, each one,
to their maker.Birds remind me that faith need not be complicated. For me, it is often the practice of positive thinking that feels like faith. It is choosing to see the world through hopeful eyes, to be grateful for the good and the small joys that are such wondrous gifts.
I think, by nature, I am a positive person, but also I have chosen to "guard the gates" of my eyes and ears. I do not watch movies or TV or read books that are violent or cruel. I make pretty things and listen to pretty music. I do not live in a vacuum, but I have learned that the old saying "garbage in~garbage out" is true. When I do find myself pulled into the vortex of negative political talk, for example, it never makes me feel good. It points out to me the ways that we are divided. I would rather think on the ways we are alike. Mostly I elect to be around positive people, to create things with meaning and a positive message, to see the beauty of bare branches against the winter sky.
When bad times come, and they do, the habit of faith serves me well. It is lodged in my heart, an ember that burns brightest in the dark of night. I think of the wild birds, nestled in for the evening. All day they sing and forage and feed their young. When night falls they sleep with no worry for the coming day. I strive for this simple faith. Each day I try to do my best and then let go my worries and sleep.
Before bed I always check on my flock. Gypsy is in her fleece sleeping hut, snuggled down and softly clucking with contentment. Sultan sleeps perched on his boingy coil near the top of his cage, beautiful blue head tucked under a wing. Sea and Lily always sleep side by side, touching. My noisy, noisy flock is so very quiet and content. They trust me to feed them in the morning. Surely I can expect no less.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?~Matthew 6:26
