THE GREEN BIRD OF HAPPINESS

the beggar man and his mighty king

are only different in name

for they are treated just the same by fate.

today a smile and tomorrow tears,

we're never sure what's in store

so learn your lesson before it's too late; so..


be like I, hold your head up high,

till you find a bluebird of happiness.

you will find greater peace of mind

knowing there's a bluebird of happiness!

and when he sings to you,

though you're deep in blue

you will see a ray of light creep through,

and so remember this,

life is no abyss -

somewhere there's a bluebird of happiness..


from Bluebird of Happiness
lyrics by Edward Heyman & Hans Parr Davies



The bluebird has long been associated with luck, fortune, and happiness; the mythology dates back thousands of years. The Navajo people even consider it sacred. Bluebirds aren't native here in South Texas so I've found my personal replacement, the green jay. According to the range map for the green jay, he's not supposed to be native here either; I'm a ways north of his normal stomping grounds. I spotted him for the first time not long after we moved in, and I was captivated! I had to look him up in the bird book to identify him, never having seen one before. "Unmistakable, with brilliant green body and golden outer tail feathers", declares the book. I declare him a rock star of the bird world! Even someone who normally wouldn't give a thought to birds would be impressed. I have spotted him (I like to think of it as the same bird, however unlikely) several times since, always in the same tree. And each time, a thrill runs through me and anyone in the house must stop at that instant whatever they are doing and "Come see!!!"


That makes me think of true joy and happiness; something we all want but that can seem hard to come by. It has occured to me that the little moments we sometimes are so quick to overlook can be as pure and profound as the really big things we yearn for. (true love, a great new job, that long-awaited vacation..) Those things are made up of so many moments they can't possibly be perfect or purely joyous. For every moment spent lounging in a tropical paradise or swooshing down the slopes, there is a moment spent earning the cost of the trip, packing, waiting in the airport or trying to track down the lost luggage. For lots of folks (perhaps more shes than hes :) the wedding is the cherry atop the sundae that would be true love (haha! Am I not a wordsmith?) Maybe the ceremony will be perfect! (maybe not; just watch World's Funniest Home Videos sometime!); but the months spent deciding, planning and arranging will not be. OK.. you get my point! Complete, total, pure joy can fill a moment, maybe an hour, rarely a day.


But the moment I catch sight of my gorgeous green friend is pure! The only downside is that I can't have him appear at my whim; I can only be thrilled and appreciative when he does. And I am! I last saw him about two weeks ago. My common sense tells me the green jay(s) are around here because I'm so close to the river, a great source of food and cover which will from time to time cause them to wander a bit north of their normal range. My HEART tells that the green jay, from time to time, will come up here to pay ME a visit; to see how I'm keeping up with things and beguile me in his day-glo green - just because he knows he can and maybe - just maybe - it makes his day too! Love, RED


A PASSING GLIMPSE

I often see flowers from a passing car
that are gone before I can tell what they are.

I want to get out of the train and go back
to see what they were beside the track.

I name all the flowers I'm sure they weren't;
not fireweed loving where woods have burnt -

Not bluebells gracing a tunnel mouth -
not lupine living in sand and drouth.

Was something brushed across my mind
that no one on earth will ever find?

Heaven gives its glimpses only to those
not in position to look too close.


Robert Frost