High Flight

a morning in a dementia day stay

Terry Tempest Williams once wrote that when women were birds it was understood that to sing at dawn and at dusk was to heal the world through joy. So I am here mid-morning in the courtyard of the adult dementia day stay where I work hoping to spread a little joy.

There are a few small trees in the courtyard and we have bird feeders and a bird bath placed among them. This is our mid-morning meditation activity. But mostly it's conversation. I start with bird trivia.

"What male bird sits on the eggs for 3 months," I ask. Milton, a former dentist quips, ,"a damn tired bird", everyone laughs and of course he is correct. We don't aim for accuracy here.,

I ask the group if anyone has ever had a pet bird. Janine, generally quiet, tells us she once had a pet cockatiel. "When my husband died, my bird Buddy, woke in the middle of the night and began singing."

Though not everyone might understand I tell them that listening to birds slows your heart rate and triggers calm. Our ancestors knew that birdsong meant you were safe. Everyone nods their heads, our bodies remember. We are quiet listening to the mockingbirds and the doves.

I mention that humans desire to fly might have come from observing birds. Doug, a retired pilot, who could not remember what he had for breakfast, began reciting a poem, "I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth...remembering each line and finished," I put out my hand and touched the face of God".

And here in this courtyard with these dear people dealing with brain changes, I believe we did.