and if the last one wasn't enough, here's more:
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Sparrow
2.
What is the death of a sparrow?
To most, it is nothing, a non-registering event that occurs without their knowledge or interaction. It is not a thing to think about, or worry over.
But sometimes the death of a sparrow is mor than that. Sometimes it impinges upon our reality in a manner that we cannot ignore. It touches something in us that we can't quite identify.
A sparrow is not food - it is much too small for humans to bother with, really. It is not (normally) a pet; there is no real emotional attatchment in either direction. It is not a predator - again, it is much too small and not near vicious enough.
So why do we feel bad when we watch one die? Why this sense of loss; why do we mourn a tiny bird that is neither friend nor food nor foe?
Perhaps because they are so small. Despite their size, they are full of life, of energy. They are a part of our world whether we are conciously aware of them or not. And maybe it is because to witness the death of something so small and yet so alive, so daring, is incredibly intimate. It is so small, a sparrow, yet the look in its gleaming eye connects with you in such a large way. You feel as though you should protect this tiny feathery life force, that it is daring you to do other wise.
There are so many sparrows in the world, and they seem so happy to stay out of our way and to catch the crumbs that we leave in our wake, as if there is no other purpose for us in their world.
