It's been 14 years since we moved into our current home. My son was one, and my daughter wasn't even born. It's the only place they know as home. Over the years of living in our house, I've noticed patterns. I know the large tree right outside my office window is the last tree on the block to lose its leaves. I know the robins will fill the tree for a few days in November, getting the last remaining berries.
That day happened this week. Late one afternoon, I noticed the tree was alive with robins (and other little birds too!) I sat on the steps to take in the activity and feel the bright, excited energy of the birds. It was a true cacophony of noise, movement, and celebration. It wasn't quite a murmuration, but they moved from tree to tree along the street almost in mass. It was a party. The energies of joy, competition, and abundance were palpable.
Suddenly, without warning, the birds, in mass, flew away. Where the air had been vibrating with noise, with calls, with energy, it suddenly, in an instant, became silent. Not a bird could be seen or heard. I've never experienced anything quite like it.
They were there, and they were gone.
As I looked up and down, left and right, I heard a few high squawks, a warning call, perhaps? Was the small merlin hawk that likes to hang out on our street nearby? Were the owls that live near the creek coming to check out the scene? After a few minutes, the birds began to come back.
A warning call sounded, and the birds en masse heeded the call.
Communication happened. I witnessed community. One of the little birds noticed something out of place, something disturbing or wrong, and let everyone know. The birds didn't wait or debate. They moved, left, and called with strong calls the few remaining birds who missed the message. It wasn't a divided call; the robins, the chickadees, the goldfinches, and the sparrows all got the same message.
I recently came across this quote by Thomas Merton.
To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence.
The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys our own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful."
― Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
It's counterintuitive to think about too much helping, too many projects, and too much engagement as violence. Violence is a bold statement. But, when I think about those birds, I wonder if they have something to teach me about Thomas Merton's words.
The robins and chickadees would have missed the call of approaching danger if they had been too engaged in getting all the last berries and bits of bark from the trees. (committed to too many projects)
While it did feel like a frenzy of activity with all the birds, there was more going on than I knew. One or two of those birds were watching for danger- they didn't engage in the playful movement from trees. Those designated birds surrendered to only a few demands and did not commit to too many projects. They watched and let all the birds know when there was danger. There was trust in the community of birds. The inner wisdom of the birds was in fine form. I witnessed it.
I don't want my efforts and ideas neutralized by my good intentions.
I don't want to commit violence in my pursuit of peace.
Those little, noisy, active birds, that unexpected moment of silence, and Thomas Merton all created a smaller and deeper moment of insight and invitation. Each of the birds did their part the result was joy, safety and community with out fear. It was beautiful.
A blessing based on the words of Thomas Merton:
May you not allow (!!) yourself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns. May you have the boldness, confidence, and clarity to know what demands, projects, and people are yours to help and which are yours to pass by. May your work not be neutralized by fear of saying no. May your capacity for inner peace be filled, and that peace, which comes from clarity, overflow into the world.
May you listen attentively and carefully to your inner wisdom.
Spend some time with Thomas Merton’s words. What word or phrase seems to stand out to you? What might the invitation be for you this week?
To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys our own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful."
― Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
Not a book, but a Youtube Channel I've been loving. I recently discovered Cecilia Bloomdahl on Youtube. Cecilia and her boyfriend Christopher live on Svalbard island, a Norweigen (I believe) territory/village not far from the North Pole. It's fascinating the life they lead. They are in Polar Night, which is a few months when the sun will not rise; of course, the sun never sets in Polar Summer. The footage she shares of the land, ocean, fjords, northern lights, and glaciers is beautiful. (SO BEAUTIFUL) If you are looking for something interesting, beautiful, and well-produced, I highly recommend her channel-you can start anywhere are learn about her life, their community and life in the far north!
The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen
I started this book twenty years ago-I had a copy on my shelf with a few notes in the book's first half. I've been on a Nouwen kick lately, so I decided to finish it. This book was written in 1979, so it's almost fifty years old. It was fascinating to read predictions and thoughts about "moden man" in the future that he dreamed/dreaded. It's not my favorite Nouwen, but I'm glad I read it. It's timely and prophetic for our time.
For a compassionate person, nothing human is alien: no joy and no sorrow, no way of living and no way of dying."
― Henri J.M. Nouwen