Like a perchance glance of a bird, life’s moments can be very fleeting yet memorable.

I observed a bird on the wire behind our house.  It was one I could not identify, but it seemed regal and beautiful at first glance.  It piqued my curiosity enough that I went to get my field glasses and the bird book to identify it, but as I was preparing to focus in on the bird it took flight and I never saw it again.

This brought to mind the momentary connections I have had in my life where I was captured in the rhapsody of the moment, but the person with whom I shared that moment went on a path divergent from mine.

I recall one such moment the summer of 1978 when I was travelling across the western states as “extra cargo” in a friend’s van.  We camped out in the state and national parks, slept under the stars, and drank the cheapest beers we could purchase at the local stores.  I was somewhere in the western mountains in a park that I believe had the name Yellowstone.  There on the front veranda of the camp’s lodge, I entered into a conversation with a very delightful young woman, (around my age at that time), who was traveling much the same as I was, except she was going east and I was going west.

After a very long, interesting, and delightful conversation, we retired to our respective campsites and I never saw her again.  But that delightful encounter still resonates with me to this day.  I don’t recall her name, or where she was from, or even what we talked about, but the loveliness of the encounter lingers with me even to this day.  There was something very extraordinary about her that captured my attention and imagination, and it remains among my cherished moments.

So when I looked upon the bird from my kitchen window, I wondered where it came from, where it was going, and why it was there at that moment for me to enjoy.  Consequently, I recalled many of those past moments when I simply connected with someone on a transcendent level, and like the bird, watched it take flight never to return.

There are many such moments that exist and too many to list them all because they include memories as far back as I can remember from my childhood.  Samples of these precious moments include the simple gesture of tying a child’s shoe, helping an older person manage a door, connecting with the wait-person at a restaurant, complimenting someone on a job well done, engaging in a stimulating conversation on an airline flight, riding along on my bike with someone and enjoying the pleasantries of the day, dancing at a wedding with someone you will never see again, assisting a distressed motorist, helping a friend move, chatting with a high school student working at the store, holding a baby in my arms, and so forth.

Watching birds is like those pleasant encounters.  They capture our attention; some with the most brilliant plumage, others with their sheer energy, and others with graceful actions as they fly, forage or “twit” about. I simply must remember to look upon the birds with much more awareness so that the preciousness of the encounter can be appreciated before they disappear and never to be seen again.

And thusly, it is my wish and hope that each new conversation and encounter with sentient beings is treated as, and becomes, a cherished moment.  As with the birds calling in their gleeful songs, so I will seek to capture a joyful moment whenever possible and release it when completed.  I have learned that such things belong not to me, but can still be cherished and appreciated.  Although that moment for those of you who may be reading this is over, I hope you will nurture it, (as I hope to do for myself), so it remains delightful and grows in fondness with the passing years.

I hope you have a delightful experience today and every day henceforth.