Signs

Is it really a "sign" if you don't know what it means?

When you see something unusual, something you've never seen before, and it makes you feel sad (or happy, or curious, or anything), it's supposed to mean something, isn't it?

As I walk to work in the morning, I notice the birds - not that I'm an ornithologist, or even an experienced bird watcher. There was a new voice in the neighborhood this morning, a recognizable call I hadn't heard around here in a while.

Then a few steps away, I saw a trio of birds scuffling on the sidewalk at the foot of a tall building. One bird flew off, up onto the ledge overhead; it ducked into what evidently was "home."

The other two birds continued scuffling - or at least one was. As I drew closer, I realized that one was dead. It apparently had either flown into the building or fallen from the ledge. The other bird - father? mother? mate? medic? - was picking delicately at the fallen bird's neck and head, trying to revive it. The saver tried to pull the fallen off the path, closer to home. The struggle was overwhelming. The saver paused in its effort, nuzzled closer to the fallen, and seemed to try to catch its breath.

I did not expect to wake up this morning and share another creature's frustration, despair, and grief.

If it's a sign of anything, maybe it's that the world is always capable of showing me something I'd never seen before, and make me feel something I hadn't felt in just that way before.

love, hosaa
in sorrow