Breakfast is for the Birds

This Saturday morning I had intended to sleep late, but I woke up about the time I usually leave the house to go to work. Instead of rolling over and shutting my eyes, I had a desire to go outside. I am finding that the mornings on the weekend are some of my favorite times.

This morning the air is cool. The sky is still covered with a blanket of gray clouds, but last night's rains have ended and left behind a fresh feeling in the air. A gentle breeze blows to maintain that freshness. As I sit in a rocking chair on my front porch, the breeze changes direction and suddenly brings to me the sweet scent of the gardenia in full bloom.

The birds are especially active this morning. Not only are they all singing their unique songs, but breakfast awaits them. Time after time a bird will swoop into the yard and strut along the grass before burrowing its beak into the soft wet soil to extract a worm. Cardinals, bluebirds, robins. The brightly dressed birds seem to be the most active today.

Other birds land in the small dead tree in my neighbor's yard. I realize that this eyesore is providing meals for other birds. A pair of birds that seems as small as an infant's hand make a feast there. After they leave another bird arrives to find its meal.

I am struck by the order of it all. The birds do not compete with one another for territory. The earth is big enough for them all to coexist and still enjoy abundance. Why can't we do likewise?