My morning was filled with baby birds, and I hope everyone gets to be so fortunate.

Even though I see geese all the time these days when running, rarely do I see a family gathered together as adorably as a goose mom, dad, and four fluffy goslings were today, the littles sampling patches of grass shoots while flanked by clearly loving and vigilant guardians.

I’m so grateful that, just after having pondered the way the concept of fatherhood permeates all of our lives and, in shifting ways, frames society itself today, I was greeted by the sight not one, but two examples of diligent bird dads, the other being a cardinal taking turns with his partner caring for a tiny nest of open-beaked babes just steps away from their much larger neighbors.

Although I realize not everything about it is inspiring, it’s grounding to be reminded of how purposeful practically everything in the natural world is, and how much this contrasts with some man-made systems and the ways in which they affect all of our behaviors. And it all has to do with their purpose, which is more than just predation or even survival.

Lately, I’ve found myself on a number of occasions pausing to listen to the exquisite songs of local Wood Thrushes and have loved feeling reminded of the importance of listening for the signal, so to speak, over all the noise.

On-theme for my blog, I still believe some sort of structural adjustment is needed to help draw clearer distinctions, in a sea of marketing ploys, between the signals emitted by organizations that operate from a place of purpose and the distractions produced by those that do not. So often, when I clear a cigarette butt, a cup cap, or other shard of plastic to prevent one of these creatures from mistaking it for food or nest material, I marvel at how close a correlation there appears to be between dangerous litter and corporate entities designed to addict. Every one of these refuse types could easily be disposed of differently, but, as I have written before, it is almost like those throwing them around are doing so on purpose in order to be seen and, in their own way, ask for help. But, like birds, every one of us deserves an environment free of such clutter.

I’ve marveled lately at how some organizational entities, and media corporations in particular, seem to demonstrate not just an ability, but a tendency, to behave less and less optimally as measured by their overall impacts on the world the more data and power they are able to stockpile; and I still feel it worth raising the topic – not to articulate a complicated or intractable problem but, hopefully, to express an openness to the possibility it at least may be simpler than it seems.

Today, it was heartening to be reminded by poignant examples that, absent the imposition of unhelpful artificial forces, collaboration and social cohesion are, actually, natural.