So I left home this morning, this mild, obscure Monday morning, without my second most vital workday possession: headphones.
I left my headphones by the bedside. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? My rock, my dawn crutch; my everything at 5.50am while pounding the pavement to the inspirational noises of Tony Robbins that catapult one into the day ahead with sturdy resolutions and spine rod-straight with determination.
My headphones; by the bed. And if I head back into the house – the realisation of being bereft kicks in only two minutes away from the domain – I’ll wake people up with the sound of unlockery.
Steely still with my remaining ounces of awakitude (god alone can help me for the following 17 hours before bedtime, mmm, SNOOZE) I decide to push on, much like the shepherds must have done when they saw the star of St David (great name btw) when they realised they’d left their timbrels back in the hut.
And so I meagrely trudged the remaining 20-odd minutes to the station. Or at least it started as a trudge. And then I heard it.
It was faint at first; I can’t blame it at this unearthly hour. But then as if filled with resolution to light up the still-night sky with sounds of hope for a new week, the chaffinch thrust out its tiny little chest while its song commensurately grew in amplitude.
A smile broke across my weary face. A smile so natural and unaffected it made me want to join my new avian friend in choral abandon.
The headphones. Those sorry headphones, left forlorn at the bedside. How I regaled my forgetfulness. Birdsong to cocoon me in its sweet aura.
I was totally blissed out by that solitary display of Mother Nature’s charms. A spring added to my step, out of nowhere. And all for the love of being crap when rising early.
But it made me think on another level, save for the self-serving happiness it brought to my life.
We all stumble around our own little worlds in blissful ignorance and ingratitude for the things that make us most happy.
Most are more resourceful than I. The headphones are always there, and the volume is often at full blast.
The music of now-life may be reassuring but it’s also deafening and blocking out the inputs that matter most.
I know because I’ve been there. I am guilty yet of turning up the music of my own selfishness to the detriment of other stuff competing to be heard and indulged.
So take off those headphones sometimes, and take a listen. Listen to your loved ones, listen to your colleagues.
Step outside. Make a little effort to involve yourself more in their lives. Ask how their day’s gone. Find out what their plans are for the week ahead. Be there. And quickly you’ll discover that unburdened by what you want to hear all the time, life will unfold and bring much greater pleasure for you and all your loved ones.
Because there’s only one way that chaffinch will make you sing. Take off those headphones, open your mind and open up your heart.
Live dreams. Love life.