Glimpses of the Everyday: A Weaver and a Common Sparrow

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We are saturated with everydayness all around us. Never ask a fish, they say, to think about the water in which it swims. Or something like that. The same goes for us humans that are so saturated with everydayness that surrounds us. We rarely see the small and common house sparrow anymore because they surround us everyday and at every moment. The weaver becomes a nuisance when it begins to build its nest. I always have fond memories of my grandfather that just cut his grass and the weavers dropping countless oak leaves on the grass. My grandfather always got mad at this situation. But for me it just points to the idea that the everyday sighting of these birds has saturated my grandfather’s world to such a degree that he could not see them for what they were: beautiful creatures that is worthy of our attention.

When we sat down for lunch like so many other times before this one, the weavers and sparrows hopped about around our table, seeking out small seeds or any crumbs that patrons might have dropped while eating. So many people would not be able to tell you what birds these are, even I might label them incorrectly, and even less likely would be to ask people to recollect their memories of these birds hopping around and about.

This is by no means a bad thing, but it is also not a good thing. My grandfather missed the opportunity to see these birds for what they were. Only when confronted with the strange and out of place, that is, other birds that challenge the everyday experience of the sparrow and the weaver, would he focus on the beauty of the birds. And this goes for so many other people. Only when they see and hear a bird that take them out of their everyday world, out of the experience of the everydayness, do they pay attention to the beauty of the bird. But the sound and appearance of the weaver and sparrow is part of the ocean in which the fish swims. Do not ask the fish to think about the water in which it swims. Do not ask the average person on the street to see the beauty of the sparrow and the weaver.

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It is not that they cannot see them as beautiful, it is merely that the commonness of the sightings makes the moment less memorable, less likely to take the person from their everydayness into a mode of contemplation and sensing beauty. Eating the same slice of bread everyday will become habit, but once you fast, and you crave food, the slice of bread will become food fit for a king or queen. When the person on the street is deprived of the everydayness of the sparrow and the weaver, she might think of the weaver and sparrow as the most beautiful creatures.

We humans have a strange way of relating to the natural world. We live in it, yet we are also outside of it. We live locked up in our homes, yet the world surrounding us is so familiar that we would not have a sense of loss when every last flower wilts. In fact, only when it wilts will we see that it is no longer there, the beauty that we confronted as everydayness has gone to pass.

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And this is where I am finding myself: I try to make the everyday a magical moment. Fasting allows me to find a strange satisfaction in the most plain and simple food. Zooming in on the photographs of flowers and birds allows me to see the world through a different lens. The everyday becomes an ocean of unexpected wonders.

For now, happy birding, and keep well.

All of the musings and writings are my own, albeit inspired by the beauty of these birds. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and Tamron 300mm zoom lens.