Invitation

Oh, do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy

and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles

With the Stay-at-Home restriction lifted, the seven of us were back outdoors doing tai chi in the early morning sun. Grateful to be back at our exercise we were especially grateful to be with each other again. In the silence of tai chi, we found ourselves treated to the musical background of bird songs.  Surrounding us.  A musical battle.  Yes, the season had moved on.

I don’t know about you, but I spend a fair bit of time outdoors and try to bring that silence with me, that way of listening. It’s helped me this winter through our lockdowns, various election shenanigans, and all the talk about vaccination roll outs.

Here are some photos of places where I feel I’ve been invited to listen in this way. And below, is Mary Oliver’s poem, Invitation.

Invitation

Oh, do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of your busy

and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles

for a musical battle,
to see who can sing
the highest note,
or the lowest,

or the most expressive of mirth,
or the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air

as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine

and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude –
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing

just to be alive
on this fresh morning
in the broken world.
I beg of you,

do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.

It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.

• Mary Oliver, “Invitation,” A Thousand Mornings