Morning’s for the Birds
By
I’m at Vikingsborg – the guesthouse of the Convent of St. Birgitta. It is quiet here. There are a few honks from random geese, but otherwise the birds – now that it is dark – are quiet. They will wake again – as will I – a little after 5, as the sun comes up.
The past couple nights it has been warm enough to leave the sliding door open and the bird song is so loud it feels as if the birds are in my room with me. It is a nice noise, this bird alarm, but I usually hate morning alarms and I’ve been trying to figure out why I’m enjoying being woken up so early by the birds.
It could be because I don’t have to do anything in response to the alarm. I don’t have to feed anyone, or get up and get going. And there’s no jolt of adrenaline from a beep or a buzzer, and not even the mild irritation the way there is when the radio wakes me up with a song I like.
But I think I like the bird alarm because the birds sound so joyful. They sound as if they are all singing their appreciation to have woken up to a new day. Their song is a sound of wonder and pleasurable anticipation. Their song holds no memories of tasks undone from the day before, or worry about what’s ahead, there are no yawns, no creaky joints. There is so much noise it is hard to imagine that there are any bird holdouts desperately trying to hide their heads under their wings so that they don’t have to wake up and start the day.
What would it be like to be a member of such a community? To wake and immediately contribute to a joyful noise of praise for the world and one’s existence in it?
Maybe, just maybe, if I am able to experience this bird alarm enough, their inspiration will train me, too, to wake on a note of gratitude and love. It’s a lovely idea. Many thanks to the sparrows and swallows and finches, the robins and mourning doves, the ducks and the geese and the gulls, blackbirds, and crows and hawks, the jays, and the chickadees, and all the others I hear but haven’t seen, thank you for the example of a joyful noise to start the day.
3 Comments
May 18th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
A couple weeks ago, Tiny Human and I were playing out front in the sunshine. She had stripped down and was enjoying the warmth of the day, making ‘soup’ in a huge blue bowl. She would stir the water, add pinecones, rocks and sticks and stir some more. She brought me a taste and we decided it needed something else. We got quiet and listened for the right birdsong. When she heard one she liked, she’d yell ‘dat one mama!!’ and I’d reach out and scoop it up in my hands and put it in her bowl. Once she added enough birdsong, mixing in all the different tones and rhythms, she declared that her Birdsong Soup was ‘yuuuuuummmmmmmmy’.
May 21st, 2010 at 2:49 pm
It is my understanding that birdsong soup – which is naturally raw,
organic, & gluten free – is a great addition to any nutrition plan. I
believe it helps create a gentle release of endorphins & contributes
to a general sense of joie de vivre. Thanks so much for sharing your
recipe!!
June 14th, 2010 at 5:46 am
I just read this and wanted to tell you! This was posted on Amazon under reviews for Ladinsky’s Love Poems From God.
“Ladinsky is beautiful, but deceptive, August 12, 2007
By Nathan Higgins
This review is from: Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West (Compass) (Paperback)
I’ve had this book for a couple of years and I used to enjoy it. I would recommend caution to anyone thinking of buying it, though. Daniel Ladinsky has a history of writing his own poetry and selling it as though it were translated material. Many people in the West know the name of the Iranian poet, Hafiz, through Ladinsky. Although Ladinsky has admitted at times that his writings are not translations of Hafiz but are based on his vision of Hafiz, he has continued to market his material as though it were actually authored by that poet. Many people now read Ladinsky and think that they are reading Hafiz. I think Daniel Ladinsky is a dishonest person for doing this.
That said, his work is beautiful. If what I’ve said doesn’t bother you, then don’t worry about it. This book is a pleasure to read. If you are interested in Hafiz or any of the other sacred poets whose names are meantioned in this book, then I would be very careful and not trust anything that has Daniel Ladinsky’s name on the cover.”