For The Birds!

Pay attention to the birds ... that's what one of my messages said last week.
It made me smile ... not sure why ... it just did.

It was on one of those days when we finally got some rain.  A nice soaking rain that drenched the yard ... leaving glistening drops on the random blades of grass ... that had stubbornly stood up to the baking heat of the sun.

Just off the screened porch sat my little red wagon.  A little nostalgic, yes.  But actually, it's my version of a wheelbarrow.  I can pull it ... around the yard ... and haul limbs ... leaves ... whatever needs to be carted about ...

Rolling Red ... that's my wagon.

So there I was sitting on the porch ... drinking my morning coffee ... reading my message that ended with the random sentiment ... pay attention to the birds.

Splash. Splash.

It was an unfamiliar sound ... and I wondered where it was coming from ... there in my backyard.

That's when I noticed them ... the two little robins that have nested above my brick patio for years ... playing in the water ... in my wagon.

Apparently it had filled up ... during the rain.

Sassy splashing ... dipping their wings ... their heads ... and at times ... dunking their whole bodies ... in the water ... it is the ultimate bird bath.

It was as if they didn't have a care in the world!

And then came the whisper ... "Are you paying attention?  To the birds?"

I sighed ... because, of course, I got it ... the message.  I have been so focused on the rat-killing ... that I haven't been seeing the birds ... or even hearing them sing.


So for the last week or so ... I've been taking time each day ... for the birds ... especially my pair of robins.  I've watched them dance across yard ... in search of a worm or other tasty morsel.  I have listened to them serenade each other ... early in the morning ... and again late at night.

It reminds me that ... I have always been ... the songbird ... even though I can't carry a tune.

So maybe ... a la Barbra Streisand ... this time the song is for me  ...

Each day ... I am watching the red-breasted birds ... gayly making a splash ... in the Rolling Red bird bath ... and each day the thought comes ...

... my life ... it's for the birds ...

Followed by the nudge ... "You're getting close, MJ.  Very close."  

For the birds ... is not commonly thought of as a positive sentiment.  It usually means something is worthless ... that one has become frustrated with the current state of things ... and that it is pointless to be here.

Wonder how ... for the birds ... came to mean ... worthless ?!?!

Actually, I don't wonder.  I totally get it.  It was taken out of context.

 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Matthew 6:25-27

I am heading off on a grand adventure ... a vacation ... certain that time away will be the catalyst for change ... that's been blowing on the breeze for some time.  And I have been preparing for the next part of my journey ... by paying attention to the birds.

Here's what I am  taking with me ... into the unknown ... of what's coming next:

Live in the moment.  Splash in the water with someone fun.  Dance in the sunshine.  Walk in the rain.  Treat each day .. as if it were a short story ... contained completely in its own 24 hour ... window. Enlarge my window. Sing my songs.  Help people to be strong.  Don't worry so much about living ... focus on being ALIVE!

www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com

(c) June 2012