So I washed the windows last weekend. Upstairs and downstairs, inside and out. Took out all the screens and washed them too. Both sides. When I got everything back in place, there was a new vibrancy to every room, clean light splashed into every corner and the windows gleamed like diamonds.
As a day of physical work often does, completing the task gave me a great sense of accomplishment. Not the inspired type accomplishment where your skills or intellect were challenged and the final achievement was in doubt, but a more subdued form of accomplishment where all that was needed was commitment and perseverance. These are the more common types of achievements in life and I don't mean to belittle them; consistently "putting in the work" is a suitable foundation for an honorable life.
Since I am working from home, I've had several sunny days to enjoy the airy brightness of a home with clean windows. This has produced a steady undercurrent of joy each day. However, my positive vibe has been interrupted four times this week by the jarring confrontation between a clean window and a speeding bird.
Each of these startling occurrences left me feeling a bit guilty for my unintentional role in the collision. Though I was relieved when three of the birds got up and flew away, I have found myself thinking wistfully now and again about the one that did not.
I guess I'll just chalk this up to unintended consequences and the laws of nature. I know that dam-building beavers wreck the habitats of many lives on the nearby riverbanks and nesting squirrels chew through wires, spark fires, and burn a great many buildings to the ground each year. I cleaned my windows and felt good about it, but a few birds have paid the price for my happiness.
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