Introducing Wellness Wednesdays
From time to time, paid subscribers will find a Wednesday evening note waiting in their inbox.
I’m calling them Wellness Wednesdays, though they may wander a bit beyond traditional wellness topics. Some weeks we might talk about nutrition, movement, or health. Other weeks it may be birds, books, silence, awe, aging, or something I’ve been noticing on a morning walk.
Think of them as reflections and musings on what it means to be human and invitations to pause and notice alongside me.
There won’t be a strict schedule. Just occasional Wednesday evening notes from me to you.
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Well, I’ve become Aunt Betty.
Aunt Betty was always telling me about birds. On birthdays, she’d send a text, with a bird photo or bird meme and a cheerful birthday wish. I remember thinking, Oh sweet Aunt Betty and her birds.
And now, I get it!!!
I find myself stopping mid-walk to listen for a call I don’t recognize, standing still for long stretches just watching them try to get that worm, or getting distracted during Zoom sessions because something interesting has landed on the windowsill outside my office. (I feed the birds at work because I can’t at home…our indoor/outdoor cats have made that arrangement impossible.)
I love them all: woodpeckers, robins, cardinals, grackles, mourning doves, goldfinches. But every once in a while, if I’m lucky, I’ll spot my favorite: an indigo bunting.
The mourning doves have become one of my favorites, too. I finally understand why my dad loves them so much. They seem gentle. Their call is unmistakable. They stay close to their partners. There’s something calming about them, as if they’re never in much of a hurry to be anywhere other than where they are.
All of this makes me wonder…What is it about getting older that makes so many of us suddenly interested in birds? Maybe it isn’t really about birds at all?
Maybe it’s about attention…
