Eastern Phoebe : Eyes Wide Open
Eastern Phoebe
This is an Eastern Phoebe. My first season at the parks, I saw them all the time. They’re very populous birds, and they thrive in my local habitat. They’re flycatchers, and they like to perch above the river waiting for insects. Over and over they’ll swoop down, nab a meal, and return to the same launching spot. It’s predictable behavior, and I became very accustomed to easily receiving their photo. Before long, I reached a point where unless the potential existed for a truly exceptional photo, my habit became to notice them briefly and immediately move on. In looking for something else, something special, I took these little birds for granted. Then a freeze killed their food supply, and they largely disappeared. They’re slowly returning.
The Hebrew Bible contains 613 Commandments. These are considered joyful obligations. By observing them, we do honor to ourselves, to our community, and to God. In the modern era, no one follows all these commandments. Some pertain to animal sacrifice in the now-destroyed Temple. Others are location dependent, required to be observed within the Land of Israel and non-operative in the diaspora. And of course there is much room for interpretation, guided by tradition and historical evolution. Nonetheless, what is near-universal is an acknowledgement that an observant life - defined as you will - is comprehensively guided by these commandments. “Observance” has both a figurative and a literal meaning.
What is it that we do consciously, and what do we do simply out of habit? Are there beneficial aspects of our lives that we allow to slip away? Do we become less observant - in a quite literal sense - of the meaning and value that’s around us? All too often the things we notice are only those which intrude into our attention. We’re deprived of the opportunity to appreciate the truly valuable by the insistence of the merely urgent. The power of conscious noticing is that we remain in charge, we exercise agency, regarding the focal points in which we invest our attention. The loss-and-return of the Phoebes reminds me to appreciate their inherent value. The joyful commands in the Bible equally keep me focused on life’s rewarding activities.