See Outside the Window

My 3m x 4m room has two windows; the first window faces the backside of the vocational school next door, and the other one has a view of the mountain. The second window has a more appealing view - beautiful Mount Merbabu - but it is not my favorite.

Though its view is unpleasant (an unfinished building, an eyesore), the first window is special. Every morning through that very window, I can see birds fly off of the roof of that building; singing, twittering, and chirping as they begin their journey each new day. I am sure those birds have been occupying that roof for a long time, but I wasn't aware of their existence until recently.

There is always excitement when I wake up in the morning and hear them singing. The sound is a remedy for the side effects of my lack of sleep or for my inability to get out of bed.

I wonder, though, if they, at some point in their lives, ever get tired of doing the same thing every day. I think of me doing the same thing every day. Some people would call it a routine and some people might want to vomit when they think about that word. When I get myself into a routine, it's easy for me to lose perspective or even to believe that what I'm doing is meaningless and doesn't impact the lives of others.

I am encouraged by what I've learned from the birds. Instinct may tell them to do the same thing every morning, but unlike them, I have a free will to choose what I want to do. Those birds will never know that their daily routine has brought delight into my life. And who knows if the routines in my life (and you, too) could bring delight and encouragement to someone else?