Everywhere I live, I have sparrows around me.
There was a time in the Netherlands when everyone talked about how few sparrows were around and about the fear that the sparrows would go extinct. But, at that time, I had my garden full of these fantastic creatures.
I even had a bush in my garden I used to call the Sparrow Inn. So many of these beautiful little birds would sit in there chatting away.
I love the sound of chattering birds.
And I always have had a thing for sparrows.
When I was about ten, I did a school research project on them. And found out there are many different types of sparrows. One kind lives in hedges. Others prefer to build their nest at houses. And it is a bird that lives all over the world.
They seem so plain until you look closer and see how many different brown, black, and grey colors they have in their feather coats.
Many times I moved, and I always had sparrows in my garden.
Even here in Bali.
I have been living in this house for over a month, and I spotted a few sparrows this afternoon. That was the moment I realized they were not here before.
So I was sparrow-less for over a month without noticing it.
And they found me.
Again.
This time I started wondering: is having sparrows around a good thing?
There were sparrows in my life when my brother died.
There were sparrows in the house’s garden where I lived in an abusive relationship.
They were chattering away in the Sparrow Inn when my husband ended our marriage.
I was perfectly happy when they were not there. Are sparrows the bringers of bad news?
Then I realized;
They were also there on my wedding day.
Sparrows lived in our garden when my kids were born.
The sparrows brightened my day when I felt depressed.
Yes, I choose to believe these cheerful little birds are the bringers of good feelings and happiness.
I love having them around, and I wish they would be there wherever I go.
This also makes me see (loud and clear) that it is up to me how I look at things.
The phrase: “Nothing has a meaning until you give it one” applies here.
It is up to me if I see the positive or the negative. I choose the positive.
Do you?