Opening my front door this morning at dawn I heard the still sounds,awake ,intent on their place in calling .Their calling as such ,blissfully unaware of the captured imprisonments of us humans now in the grip of an enemy that we can not see and cannot ,at present,stop.
As if to defeat their competition for soundspace,these birds sing in orchestral like fervour.Not seemingly conducted,they weave their phrases,uninterrupted by Bus ,car,of lorry.They are heard in clear tones ,in surround sound to rival any movie blockbuster.
If my impression of a country’s lockdown was of silence and sobriety,then o one told the birds that sing in gardens up and down the land .No,no one told them ,or they refuse to be blunted in their jest for life and carry on regardless.If instinct tells us anything ,it is the absolute need to survive,that compulsion of will almost.The songs ,the phrases are their morphine to suppress the pain of industry in nest building,in steering a course for their future young and in the threat of predators from Freddy fox and Thomas the cat.
So,in all their travails,they somehow manage to fascinate us humans,to light up our life ,to ignite a sense of normality in otherwise crazy times.As I read a text message informing me that my work today and who knows for just how many days has been cancelled,I somehow thanked them for their performance ,their intentions to just carry on.
My muse today ,although observations that I’ve made before ,appeal to me because of the backdrop of life now in this spring of 2020.It has made me think of what and how I build and am I a source for good in life and not just a person who only thinks of his own needs.These birds give pleasure without ever realising it,and their performances asks only that we are attentive.
Now,at this time,when we are in lockdown,let not our emotional numb us to others in our need to survive,but somehow as we hunker down,that we remember that we can sing ,we can smile,and we can reflect in what joys we have.
Still sounds abound and they give me hope for better days,for a recipe of energy that focuses on simply being aware that they exist,As we try to do what we have to do ,listen to those sounds that might come to the fore as the car,the bus,and the lorry become parked and the thrush,Sparrow ,and Robin permeate the sound thermals of our consciousness.
kernowsmith 