Birds teach me things about life. They don’t care what their friends think of them, what kind of house they live in, what kind of car they drive, what they wear, or where they send their kids to school. They don’t boast. They don’t preach, judge and condemn. They don’t worry where their next meal is coming from, or where they’ll be this time tomorrow. They love their kids and work tirelessly to care for them. When it’s time for the kids to leave home, momma pushes them out of the nest and teaches them to fly. They sing, they play, they soar through the air with ease. That’s because they don’t burden themselves with the cares of the world, kill themselves to make tons of money, torture themselves because they goofed up, strive to be something they’re not. They are exactly what God created them to be . . . birds.

In my fantasy world, everyone lives in peace. Like a bird, nobody’s staggering home drunk. Nobody’s yelling. Nobody’s beating his wife and kids. Nobody’s crying alone in the dark.

What happened to our desire to walk in truth? Did we find it too boring? Too impossible? Too old-fashioned? Or has it just fallen along the wayside and trampled by corruption and greed?

Then there’s the cat. Sly and sneaky, always preying on something smaller and weaker than itself. Just like the bullies of the world. Those who prey on women and children, the elderly and the poor. The cat is just being a cat. People should know better.

I think if a bird were trying to teach us a new song it would go something like this: Smile more, complain less, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Like a bird, we have to make our own paradise. No one can make it for us. All it takes sometimes is to lower our expectations of ourselves and the people around us.

Birds do not welcome just anyone into their home; only those who belong there. We can all benefit from that practice. Anyone who comes into my home and drags me to the pit of despair with all their moaning and groaning is not welcomed back. I can be depressed all by myself, I don’t need anyone’s help.

Like a bird, I’m just plain and simple. Maybe that comes with age, I don’t know. All I know is, I have everything I need and I’m satisfied with that. I’m thankful for a warm bed at night, food in my belly, and a computer and TV. Oh, and my dog, Rascal. And of course, my family: my husband, my son and his wife and their four children, daughter-in-law, and grandson. We love one another, laugh and play together, and miss each other when we’re apart. I thank God for such a loving, wholesome relationship.

Maybe in your eyes none of the above has anything to do with birds, but in my heart it has everything to do with birds. They are simple, honest, and free, the way all people are meant to be.