in the fury of the moment

planet Krista

There are times I am convinced that I really do exist in my own world. Here's an example from this morning: I was on a busy road, stopped at a red light, and all of a sudden a huge flock of tiny birds (warblers? sparrows? I'm not sure) flew across the intersection. They were flying quite low, so anyone with a pulse would have seen them if they were paying any attention to the traffic or the light or the world in which they live.

The birds descended on a small tree near the intersection, and their movements were perfectly orchestrated so that they covered the tree as one unit. It was incredible to watch as a green tree turned brown with birds ... and then they all fluttered their wings simultaneously and the group flew to another tree and repeated their conquest.

It was beautiful to watch the birds rise and fall in unison, and I caught myself smiling as I ducked my head to see them fly above my car. I looked around me for a fellow observer, and was disappointed to see cell phones and mascara wands instead. The quality of that moment would have been multiplied if I had been able to share it with someone else, even if only through a quick smile as traffic moved and forgot the synchronized fliers. But instead I drove away with almost a burdensome feeling, a feeling of sadness that so many people miss out on so much beauty, every moment of every day ... and it almost seems like there's nothing I can do about it.

I won't allow myself to be caught up in the oblivion that seems to plague the world. I'll keep looking up and smiling at the birds, even if I'm the only one doing it.

posted by Krista @ 7:09 PM