I got up extra early this morning to beat the traffic and go to a client’s site up north. It was a bit after dawn, not quite full light yet but the sun was probably just below the horizon. I love that time of the day – it is filled with all the wonders, all the promises of the day to come. I don’t know when I stopped being a night person but I’d as soon go to sleep as do anything else as the evening rolls past.
So I walked out of my house to the silence that is characteristic of early mornings and heard…well, nothing for a second. And then, I heard the birds. Overshadowed by the noise humans make, this is the hour of the birds. They were chattering away in the trees, just taking to the skies to greet the new day.
As I left the city, the sun was just beginning to shine on the Jerusalem stone of the buildings, making them golden. We don’t listen to the birds enough, I think.
In Israel, the birds are different – no, that’s silly, of course they aren’t different. But there is this amazing thing that happens each time I see the dawn and hear the birds – I think that if there is peace, this is it. Peace can happen between peoples, between nations – but sometimes it doesn’t. Despite all your greatest intentions and your largest sacrifices, sometimes the peace you have to settle for is the peace of the birds.
Let their chatter fill your ears, your heart, your mind. It can be enough – that peace of the birds. It can. It’s that feeling that the world is okay, even good; that today will be okay; that your children are safe and asleep and at peace.
I don’t always have the time to listen to the birds and too often my day starts after the birds have been intimidated by the noise humans make. But if you listen, they will tell you that sometimes peace in your heart can replace the peace between nations that can be so elusive.
28 years ago I was pregnant with my second child. It was very important for us to give birth in supportive and comfortable surroundings and we eventually found the perfect hospital. There was a large, arched window at the side of my bed. It was open and I could see the sky lightening and hear the birds chattering away as I gave birth. Dawn and the birds always remind me of that morning.
Paula, the Negev is known to have some of the most beautiful birds in the country..
When I look out of my kitchen window I can see woodpeckers, wild budgies [gorgeous] and the tiniest precious birds grey and white with a black strip and a yellow beck..
Hashem is The Master Creator who gave us beautiful creatures to appreciate.
Miriam
You always paint such a vivid picture with your words, Paula. Well done, as usual!
PJ
Good Lord, I hate Blogger’s captcha scheme — it took me 5-6 attempts to get through! Since they switched to 1 word and a picture of a number, I’ve had the hardest time. The numbers are so blurry that I just keep refreshing the images until I read something!
Hey Prophet Joe – sorry about the captcha – I just need to secure the site from people who would either spam it, or worse, make really bad comments. Sorry it’s so much of a pain. I wonder if there’s a way I could sort of clear through some people who regularly make comments. I’ll check – maybe there’s like a membership thing…stay tuned. I’ll check. Apologies again for the hassle.
I live on the 4th floor and there is a huge tree outside my window which gives me a great chance to listen to the birds every morning. Definitely a good start to the day.
Prophet Joe, I hate CAPTCHAs too, I really can’t read them most of the time. I have started using a CAPTCHA bypass browser extension called rumola which enters them all for me. I would recommend it, seems to work perfectly!