Sometimes a moment of pleasure arrives in the most unexpected way. Occasionally, it is even a shared pleasure.
After mowing the grass, weeding, trimming shrubs and watering my plants today for a rather lengthy time, I was finishing up with a rinse of the sidewalk and driveway in the front of our house. Washing away the scattered dirt that had accumulated from my labor with this final act was a sort of mindless task, and I was feeling tired.
A small puddle of water formed at the end of our driveway during the process. I was musing over the amount of water I was using for this cleanup, and tossing around the idea of about a gallon of water being somewhat frivolously put into the ditch to just dribble away, when a white-crowned sparrow landed in my puddle.
First he seemed to merely want a drink of water. We've had no rain for about a month of any measureable amount. I felt instantly better. One of my favorite birds, and the most vocal of those who visit our birdfeeder, was happy with this excess water. Then to my amazement, he decided a bird bath was in order. He spent several minutes sloshing around in the water while fluffing his wings and tail feathers. What satisfaction I now owned while watching his moment of pure pleasure in utilizing my no longer "wasted" water.
Sometimes I think God sends little messengers like these to thank us for our efforts. "Well done," rang in my imagination. Suddenly, fatigue was replaced with gratefulness on a Sunday afternoon.
I believe the universe sings to us, if only we listen.
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