Backyard Rain Forest Memories

I awoke at 5:15 this morning. On the dot. And, in my opinion, entirely too early. Alas, sleep for the precious hour and a half remaining before my alarm is supposed to abruptly welcome me to this day is, eluding me. This morning I don't mind. This afternoon I probably will mind. Right now though, I am embracing this moment because at this moment I am being serenaded by the most wonderful, beautiful and precious morning choir of the multitudes of birds that are gracing me with their birdsong. I am in awe. I can hear them through closed windows, in the otherwise silent walls of my home in these wee hours. It is AMAZING and is such a wonderful reminder of the beauty and simplicity in this world. This is a good way to start the day, before the rushes of noise, the sometimes overwhelming hub-bub of a day filled to the brim with happenings. Before sensory overload, in the not-natural sort of way. This is sensory joy.

A little earlier I donned my slippers and opened my sliding glass door to more fully take in this amazing spring morning, one finally warm enough that I could stand on my balcony for a time and over the faint hum of the nearby freeway traffic I could hone in on the birdsong. I wish I could record it because every morning the song is different.

As I was standing on my balcony in the slowly lightening day surrounded by glorious nature made music I couldn't help but reflect on one of my earliest memories. It probably isn't really the earliest, I just make it that way in my mind because it was so stunning that it would have to be one of my first just by sheer magnificence of it. I can't remember the time of year or how old I was or most of the details. What I do remember is waking up in what seemed like the middle of the night and my mom was up and probably grading papers or reading the newspaper--early morning rituals she had, very unlike my own now, but maybe more in line with how they will be if ever I have children. She welcomed me to sit, but also recommended I return to bed so that I could get rest. I've concluded that most likely this was not in fact the middle of the night, but it had to be the early morning pre-dawn hours. The dog was outside and I heard him bark at the door to be let so I went to let him in. I opened the back door to what I can only recall from my memory as truly believing that what lay outside of the walls of our home was not the outdoors I knew from daylight, but a transformed world. To me it sounded like the dull daylight world that I knew was a tropical rain forest. I couldn't explain it any other way. I based this conclusion completely off of the sounds I heard for it was still a dark and otherwise visually mysterious world. It sounded like nature amplified, like the birds were 10 times the size I knew them to be, like they had booming voices and sounded nothing like the little bit of chatter I was familiar with. Like they were from another world, or at least another part of the world. Their morning song was also accompanied by the chirp of crickets.

I remember standing there in the doorway in awe, much I as stood on my balcony this morning. The only difference was that I was younger then, I knew no better than to think that the world changed outside my house every night after I went to bed and miraculously changed back before I got up, unless of course I was sneaky and beat it to disappearing for the day and could hear some of this beautiful and to me unexplainable happenings. Today I know different. Today I know that the world I am familiar with during daylight is the one that changes, that brings the noise, the sometimes overwhelmed feeling, the moving to fast to slow down and enjoy the simplicity of this world around us. Today I also know that it is my heart that is in as much awe of this wonderful sound and it is my ears, and for this, I am thankful. For one of my earliest memories, which I always think of as my backyard rain forest memory, I am thankful. And, as the birdsong quiets for the day and the hum of freeway traffic becomes more than just a hum and as my alarm is just about ready to go off, I am thankful for the peace of the morning and have high hopes that the calmness I feel accompanies me through the day.

Much love and many blessings to you in this day.