Engines roaring, horns bellowing,
girls squealing, sirens whelping, traffic revving, cranes clanking, machinery
grinding, bus brakes screeching. The city sounds are constant and innumerable.
Usually, I screen out the collective call and notice only the unusual or
pleasant reverberations: a parade of emergency vehicle warnings or a friendly
flock of sparrows.
Jim got
a wind chime for his birthday last week. We hesitated to put it up for fear of
annoying our numerous neighbors. Today, I decided just to try it. I hunted down
a few zip ties, unveiled the bell, and stepped out onto our balcony. Wind was
gently blowing, my bell in hand was ringing but I barely noticed it. What had
been fearfully loud in our apartment diminished to a faint tinkle amidst the clanks
of the city.
Our
fear, though a thoughtful consideration, kept us from action, and robbed us of
the simple pleasure of listening to a bell in the wind. So often I
procrastinate, I justify, I let fear stop me from moving, from following
through. I often lose the opportunity to serve or to accomplish a challenging
task and lose the joy I would have experienced in the process as well.
Outside,
our tree & petunias are being whipped by the weather. Our freshly hung
clangor is playing music. I’m confident that it’s not annoying anyone. Sounds
nice.
