Yesterday, after putting out bird seed the night before, tens of sparrows, doves and starlings crowded into our garden. There was a very British (!) queue of sparrows along our fence. One would swoop down, grab some seed and then fly back to the end of the line. They hopped along and waited their turn. It was utterly fascinating to watch, but definitely didn’t deal with my ear worm!

Do you ever find that unexpected things in the world around you meet your state of mind? I’ve been more than usually worried for a while now. The catastrophization I wrote about a few blogs ago, and the sleepless nights, are back. Everything seems impossible and overwhelming. Minor things increase my heart rate even when my head is telling me it’s nothing to panic about.

You know what? Every day passes one way or another and everything is accomplished. Thinking back to last week, it was busy but here I am, safely through. Like the sparrow, I took my turn and came back unscathed.

I wonder when that tried and tested fact of things being alright in the end will ever teach us not to worry? I wonder if we will ever realise that worry does nothing but damage us?

Probably not.

But next time you have a minute, look out your window, open your front door and wait for those little birds. They’re trying to tell you that everything will be alright, one way or another.

You don’t even need to have your hair in dreadlocks to learn that lesson.