In our yard, a tiny bird sits on this nest. She is fierce. She guards the airspace around her domain with all the might she can gather. When I’m out in the yard, trespassing, as far as she’s concerned, she clicks at me in a fury and dives toward my head and shoulders in an attempt to terrify a creature a thousand times her size. What courage, eh? Sometimes, her mate joins in the battle. He’s ferocious too. I have no idea how much conceptualizing really goes on in those little heads. I don’t know if they’re acting purely from instinct, or if they’re plagued with worries like everyone else. Regardless, I try not to upset them. I see them as things of incredible natural beauty, as amazing builders (just look at their nest—it clings to that branch even during our high winds), and as symbols. What’s in that nest, what they protect so bravely, is the future: fragile and wondrous.

In these dark times, it can be difficult to see the way ahead. I’m not sure our lives will ever return to what they were before this pandemic. I suspect that the future ahead of us will require strength and determination. We are small creatures in the vast disorder of life, but like these impressive little birds, we are capable of great things. I believe we will fight our way forward, as we always have and always must, and I have immense optimism that we will build a better future because of what we have to face now. I’m realistic enough to recognize the difficulty, and yet I am filled with hope for our tomorrow and for the days after.

How about you? What do you see when you look ahead?

Let me know what you think.

—cwh