There’s a bird tapping on your window. Tap. Tap. Tap. It’s as faint as the purple and orange glow of sunlight just above the horizon.
You smile and greet the little bird with, “good morning,” and begin your daily routine. As you exit the shower and return to your bedroom, you notice the tapping continues while the bird has begun a cheerful chirping.
When you open your eyes the next day you are instantly surrounded with the sound of the bird in full song. It’s pleasant.
You get dressed and find yourself whistling an excited duet with the little songbird. You’ve made a new friend. Today will be a good day.
In the morning you notice the bird is there to meet you yet again. His tapping and song is just the same as the previous days, yet it somehow does not seem as warm and pleasant to your ears. Maybe you did not sleep very well the night before. Work. Responsibilities. Money.
All problems that can cause our minds to wander while we lie in our beds and wait for sleep to meet us in the night.
Tomorrow you awake to the same bird, the same tapping, the same chirping, and the same song but it’s louder now.
He has recruited friends. This time you know you didn’t sleep well. How could you with the bird band in constant chorus? When combined with the tapping it has started to sound more like a demonic Blue Man Group than the fun little bird who had helped you get out of bed not so long ago.
Trash. They’re building a nest. Scraps from newspapers, shredded bills and advertisements from all around the world are now piling up in your window. The same transparent screen that had provided you with a view of the outside world, sheltered you and kept your life private is now being cluttered with filth.
Every morning the nest grows bigger. You search through the mess and try to remove as much of the truly disgusting bits as possible but each day the birds replace it with new pieces. It is unrelenting. Closing the curtains would keep you from seeing the growing problem outside your window but you know it will not stop it.
Reluctantly you begin to fight back against the birds. Your days and nights are now spent searching for the perfect plan of attack to destroy their nest and reclaim your untarnished view of the outside world.
You wake up tomorrow. You open your window. You connect with the world.