HOW WATCHING BIRDS SAVED MY LIFE

 

 As a wildly-progressive woman of faith, you know I am biting my nails, toenails, twisting my curly hair, and otherwise trying to self-soothe during these days before the midterms. I know that a blue-wave is more than possible; 

I see that early voting numbers are quite high; I have read that a number of Independents and even Republicans are going to vote for Democratic candidates. But still--I worry and fret, knowing that DT will do ANYTHING to stay in power. I want to trust in our rule of law, but when did that ever stop him?

    However, as a nearby Black church would say, "Don't let the devil steal your joy." 

Or, as God said to me last Spring, "Don't let him steal your peace." With that in mind, I am doubling down on small moments of joy and trying to find places where I can breathe deeply and trust that things will improve in time, that DT will not have the last word.

   Hence, bird-watching. You might consider looking at birds out your window. Invest in a good birding book, preferably one in big-print for us older folks. A great book to buy is Amy Tan's with her wonderful illustrations and reflections, the "Back Yard Bird Chronicles." 

You can get a small journal and jot down the birds you see daily. If you are so minded--I happen not to do this as it is a bit OCD for me-you could start a "life-list" of avian creatures you see. I prefer to use the Merlin App. which identifies those whose songs I hear outside on my deck. It really is invaluable and so much fun.

 

   Here are some of the ones I have seen and heard recently in this odd, climate-warming Fall:

--Carolina Wrens (my fav birds with their outsized, loud calls), Blue Jays, Ravens, Turkey Vultures, Titmice, Black Capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers , Purple Finches, Red Finches, Red Shouldered Hawks, Crows, Bald Eagles, Pileated Woodpeckers, and before they left--Ruby Hummingbirds, Black and White Wood Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, and many others. I wave as they leave knowing they will be back come Spring.

  But here's the thing: when we (meaning I) are worrying about what's to come, nature keeps on doing its thing, dancing from day to day, sending golden leaves scudding down on the deck, rustling the rust-orange oak leaves in the nearby tree, and sun sparkling on the beaver pond down the road. Anxious as I may be, all of this gives me room to breathe. It gives me breath deep in my abdomen. It sends parcels of hope within. It reminds me that whatever happens in our world today--as hard as that may be, as much as it grieves me--this is not the final word. God's word is the last one. 

 

 You may not believe in God, but surely you can see how the world is turning, how day seques into night, how summer ends and Fall begins,

how we are held in this turning cycle of beauty and heart-stopping ease. And if worries seize hold of you today, get out your binoculars. Take a walk up the road or in the woods if you have any nearby. Note who is calling from the trees, what songs are falling around you. You can even stretch out your hands as if to grab and hold them. And one night when anxiety grabs your heart, open your hands and let those bird songs float up around your ears, reminding you of the lines from Gerard Manley Hopkins "God's Grandeur," of the "dearest freshness deep down things."