Chatter

Spring came early this year.

The summer birds returned to the valley in August, filling the silence of winter with calls and song.

I love the turning of the seasons, although a month of winter is usually enough for me.

The birds are busy from first light. Calling, answering, repeating. One sound gives way to another until the whole valley is alive with chatter.

The mind can be like that.

Busy figuring things out. Rehearsing what might happen. Revisiting what should have happened. Looking for certainty where there may not be any.

For a long time, I assumed thinking was how I found my way through life. If I stayed with a problem long enough, turned it over often enough, the answer would eventually appear.

Sometimes it did.

But I have begun to notice the point at which thinking stops revealing anything new and simply keeps the noise going.

Leaders are valued for their capacity to think.

Less attention is paid to knowing when thinking has run its course.

The birds eventually fall silent.

The mind is less easily persuaded.