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The Morning Chorus and the Beauty of Small Contributions
I was sitting on the porch before sunrise the other morning, listening to the birds wake up. There wasn’t just one song. There were dozens. Some were high and cheerful. Others were soft and distant. A crow occasionally added its opinion to the conversation. Together they created a chorus that seemed to fill the morning air. What struck me wasn’t the variety of sounds. It was the lack of competition. No bird seemed concerned about whether another bird had a prettier song. None appeared worried about being noticed. Each simply greeted the day in its own way. As I listened, I began thinking about the garden, the orchard, and the…
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The Two Kinds of Tired
The older I get, the more I think there are two kinds of tiredness. The first comes from doing too much. This is the tiredness most of us recognize. It comes from long workdays, busy schedules, physical labor, caregiving, appointments, errands, and endless to-do lists. At the end of the day, your body aches, your feet hurt, and you know exactly why you’re tired. The second kind is harder to identify. It comes from being exposed to too much. Too much information. Too much noise. Too many notifications. Too many decisions. Too many opinions. Too many advertisements. Too many people wanting a piece of your attention. This kind of tiredness…
