What goes on in the mind of 'toddlers', goes on in the minds of many adults; 'If I see it...it's mine'. 'If I can take it from you...it's mine.' 'If it's in my hands...it's mine.' Worse, 'If I think it's mine...it's mine.'
Toddlers are in a process of learning about their world. They are learning about themselves; the concept of balance, literally and figuratively. If they share at home, learning to share on the playground follows less painfully. If they are raised in a home of fear and control, the idea of public sharing falls flat on its face.
Mother Nature, today, sent me a reminder about sharing what's mine. After nearly three days of rain and damp, I finally was able to hang my laundry on the clothesline again. Or so I thought. It seems that the beautiful song birds outside my window where not there by accident; a wren had been at work on the laundry line. She'd woven well a nest atop all my clothespins, inside my clothespin bag, hanging on the line outside a window. I'd investigated the depth, thinking perhaps I could sneak her nest out and salvage my clothespins. Nope.
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With a basket of wet laundry I pondered. Should I use the dryer? Again? The sun-shiny laundry scent, and my committment to reduce my carbon footprint prohibited me from doing so. So, I used a few stray clothespins I salvanged from the ground, draped the rest, vowed to buy a new package of pins, and took stock in what I thought was 'mine'.
This wren, pleasantly sings, along with the song sparrows, and the familiar whistling robins here on our big wooded lot. Her ancestors may have been here when the first timbers of this home was built on Terryville Road in the early 1900's. Who was I to even contemplate removing her from the premises? I realized that I too, was toddling. I wondered what others might do, finding a natural imperfection;a cog in a wheel of progress. How many of us are toddlers when it comes to caring for our natural resources? Luckily, I righted myself, and found a reason to be greatful for the inconvenience of sharing.
