“You can observe a lot by just watching“ Yogi Berra
Look at the birds of the air, for they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? Matthew 6:26
My regular readers know that I think Yogi Berra was an unsung American hero. He was a wounded combat veteran of D-Day, yet he refused the Purple Heart for his wound because he didn’t want his mother to worry about him. Later, he played Hall of Fame level baseball for the New York Yankees, but he was overshadowed by players like Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. Yet he was arguably the most valuable player on the Yankee dynasty of the 1950’s.
Today I look at Yogi’s simple, yet deceptively profound quote above- “You can observe a lot by just watching.” I was reminded of this recently when I watched the behavior of some animals in my own back yard. There were the chipmunks, squirrels and birds converging on the sunflower seeds that had fallen uneaten from my bird feeder. They would crowd one another, bluff and bully one another, and finally find some kind of order as they picked through the seeds.
They would also try to outwit one another. The Housefinches are bullies and the skittish Goldfinches are usually wary and easily frightened off. Until one brave Goldfinch stands his ground and finds that he can compete for the cherished sunflower seeds.
The squirrels will often try to raid the birdfeeder (successfully, if I do not take it in at night), then they will feast (gorge!) on seeds, burying what they cannot consume in one feeding. They will bury the seeds in the ground around the side of my house. Recently, the chipmunks found the cache and have been raiding it for themselves. Just watching this scenario felt like a drama or mystery movie, maybe even a comedy, in my own back yard.
All this to say, if I had not taken time to pause and watch, I would not have been able to make these observations.
Like Yogi said, “you can observe a lot by just watching.”
Prayer: Lord, help us pause long enough to enjoy your creation, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 