Open and Closed

I’ve just witnessed life in action. I was sitting at my desk before windows and a glass door, all looking out on the woods in our back yard. I had the door opened to let in some fresh air. Birds were singing in abundance as they do in spring time, but I found a particular bird sound rising above all the others. This wasn’t even what I would call a song. It was a particular chirping, the sound that cardinals make.

And then, there she was. A female Cardinal was on the fence right in front of me, making her Cardinal chirping sound with great enthusiasm. She opened my eyes along with my ears. I watched her dance along the fencing, and then she dove down into a corner of the fence line where we had some flower pots sitting. There, between pot and fencepost was one of her babies newly sprung from the nest. She had brought food for the little one which she quickly deposited in its mouth and then flew off.

Now, the chirping came from the little one who engaged my imagination along with my ears and eyes. I think he must have been calling for more. “More, please, I want more!” (Can we call this little one Oliver?). Oliver then flew in small spurts along the fence line. Momentarily, mother showed up with more to eat. She had her hands full. She needed to feed little Oliver and continue to entice him to not only fly, but to fly higher. Living along the bottom of the fence line might feel safe, but it would be easy pickings for any cat who came along.

For a few minutes of my life, a Cardinal and her baby wove me into their life. They invited me with a chirp, a dance, a feeding, some flying, and renewed rounds of all of those. With each invitation, I opened more parts of myself until I was fully involved in the life of this little one.

It is the way of interdependence and of a fuller engagement with life. Invitations come, to listen, to see, to feel, to notice, to witness, to imagine, to act, to give, to receive, to dance, to fly, and walk a while, to breathe, and when we open to these invitations, we are woven into the fabric of life. Once we’ve opened to this grand scheme, it’s hard to remember why we were closed.

~Bob Patrick