The “Other Birds”

              An anonymous writer has said, “How silent the woods would be if only the best birds sang.”  I had to think about this, but soon I  realized how true this statement is.  It then occurred to me that the “best birds” can truly sing only because the “other birds” are not silent.  I write this to recognize and honor the “other birds.”

              For example, I spent many Friday mornings volunteering at the Radiology Center when the hospital was named St. John’s Health System.  I talked with and saw how the “best birds,” the doctors and nurses who treat the patients can sing because of the “other birds” there: the technicians who operate the radiology machine; the clerks who build and organize the patient charts and keep them up to date; the receptionists who take patients’ health histories and set up appointments to see the doctors.  The music of all the “ birds” in “this woods” radiates hope and healing for all who come for radiation because all the “birds” sing.

              The importance of the “other birds” spills over into other areas of our lives.  Consider the market where we purchase food.  The “best birds” sit in “tall trees” somewhere dealing with supplies and prices.  The market “sings” because of the “other birds”: the person who prepares the produce and keeps sit fresh; the employee who stocks the shelves with food; the butcher who cuts and packages the meat; the clerk who checks us out; the youngster who bags our groceries and helps us get them to our cars.  How much easier it is to shop because all those “birds” sing.

              For many years I had season tickets for the concerts given by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.  Thus I have been privileged to see and hear some marvelous “best birds” over the years: Andre Watts at the piano; Zach De Pue with his violin, Michael Strauss with his viola, and many other great musicians.  However, these “birds” could not really “sing” without the orchestra, the “other birds”: the strings, brass, reeds, and percussion that supports and accompanies them.  Playing together, the “birds” in this “woods,” the orchestra, sing with glory and grandeur, and it is a joy to watch and listen.

              The anonymous writer is right.  The “woods” in which we live would certainly be silent if only the “best birds” sang.  It is the “other birds” who undergird, support, maintain and sustain the “best birds” so they can fulfill their responsibilities, so they can sing.  So here’s to the “other birds.”  There are so many of us.  Without us, our “woods” would be silent.  Yet, because we also sing, our “woods” chime with the splendor of song.