It is Memorial Day in the States and for those of us that live in Upstate South Carolina, if you had any outdoor plans this morning, they were thwarted by a strong line of rain that soaked the area for hours. Deciding to make the most of my morning off, I spent several hours on the couch in my main room with my head stuck in a book! I was just wrapping up one particularly stimulating chapter when the rain began to soften and the sun peeked, for a few moments, from among a thick layer of clouds.

All of a sudden, a faint pecking noise filled the otherwise quiet room. Looking up from the pages of my book, to my surprise, I saw two American Goldfinches perched on the outside of the window closest to me, peering in with their dark and focused eyes, staring right at ME! On the right was a brilliant yellow male and on the left a paler female. For at least another minute or so, the two gently pecked on the glass in front of them, stopped momentarily to stare in my direction, and then, as if not yet satisfied with my response, did it all over again. I watched in silence with amusement and awe.

I recognize that there could be a very practical and rational explanation for this unusual behavior. Perhaps after the storm these two birds were hungry and letting me know that my bird feeder was empty (it was) or perhaps the particular light conditions following the storm provided some sort of unusual reflection in the window that attracted the birds to an optical illusion. Maybe it was the two goldfinches depicted in a painting in my main room that lured them in?!? As someone trained in science and critical thinking, I recognize the validity and plausibility of each of these explanations.

And yet, I also believe there are greater forces in the world at play that aren’t as easy to see or understand. In my view, it is equally, if not more, plausible that some mysterious force or purpose brought these two birds to my backyard, at exactly the time I was reading, when I wasn’t in my office (due to the holiday), at the very window (among many in my home) right in front of me. What kind of message might these birds be trying to communicate, I wondered?

I am not at all the first person to ask this sort of question. Animal medicine (of a spiritual, not veterinary nature) is a practice that dates back centuries, across all manner of cultural and religious belief systems, throughout every great civilization, and in every part of the world. Within this lens of understanding, nonhuman animals possess wisdom, communicate messages from the gods (or god), and can bring insight, understanding, and healing to those they encounter. Birds, in particular, have long been viewed as messengers from the spiritual realm, given that, as a family, they are able to access and move between the land, sea, and the sky. By observing the behavior of non-human animals and recognizing when and how they show up in our lives, animal medicine teaches us that we can gain valuable lessons from all fellow creatures.

After consulting an animal medicine dictionary I have in my library, I discovered that perhaps the most consistent symbolism associated with the goldfinch is focused on cultivating joy in the present moment. With its vibrant and cheerful colors and the light and delicate nature of its flight, there are obvious explanations for the connection. Joy, in my understanding, involves a delight that springs from something deeper than a surface level emotion like happiness, although the two are often used interchangeably. At least in the way I often experience it, joy has its origins deep in the soul.

This may be why, in Renaissance art, the goldfinch is regularly depicted near Christ’s crown of thorns, as a symbol of the joy of the resurrection. In more contemporary times, in Donna Tartt’s novel “The Goldfinch,” the main character returns to a painting of a goldfinch to find solace and inner strength during a period of great tragedy. In both instances, it would seem, joy emerges from an inward contentment and peace – not some fleeting rush of gaiety.

My mystery now solved, the task before me was simple – find me some joy! My goldfinch friends were waiting (if not so patiently) for me to find it, after all. On the surface, this seemed easy enough – identify an object of delight, focus on it for a moment, feel joy. But have you turned on the news lately? Have you felt the sweltering heat in early May? Have you too seen the vitriol of political discourse in this country? To be frank, I wasn’t really in the mood for joy. We live in a tumultuous time and my simple task of finding joy, it turns out, wasn’t so simple after all.

Part of the challenge for me in seeking joy is that I see the big systems that stifle it – the fossil fuel industry that gets in the way of addressing climate change, corporate greed in the way of tackling unemployment among the poor, and personal greed in the way of eroding community connection and support of our neighbors. In the face of such complex, powerful, interwoven systems, I have a hard time finding avenues to change them, at least not any path I could take alone. So, while I am rather an optimistic person by nature, I sometimes feel like shrugging my shoulders and giving up. I can even shrug off calls for joy. Even still, keenly aware of toxic positivity, I am mindful that joy alone isn’t going to lead to world peace.

After filling up my bird feeders (my visitors probably were actually quite hungry), I remembered a conversation with a family member earlier in the week that started to bring this not-so-chance encounter with my avian friends into focus. Reflecting on turning a year older (I recently celebrated a birthday), we both realized that, as we gained more life experience, we were learning to assume less responsibility for “fixing” the whole system, or for singularly addressing the ills of our day. We were finding ways to remove some of the pressure we felt to single-handedly “save” the world.

Instead, through our conversation, we began to understand our lives as a series of tiny moments that contribute to some grand scale – like one that might have historically been used to weigh metal coins to ensure that payment was equal and balanced. Without a doubt, there are lots and lots of coins added to the “bad and evil” (for lack of a better phrase) side of the scale each day, so much so that there is no denying a strong pull in that direction.

BUT there are also lots and lots of coins added to the “good and loving” side of the scale too. The question becomes, what side of the scale do I want to add coins to? Instead of erroneously assuming that we might actually change the scale itself or the broader system all on our own, this metaphor reminds me that only when we work together, through simple daily actions, can we create meaningful change. And when we do that, we are relieved of the pressure to hatch a grand plan or lead others in a perfect all-encompassing scheme to reconfigure the whole system. Instead, when we perform small, intentional acts, combined with the actions of others, we begin to tip the scales in the right direction.

I suspect my goldfinch visitors were reminding me of one very powerful way to tip that scale – through finding pockets of joy, cultivating moments of joy, or sharing experiences of joy with others. To be clear, I don’t think that joy is always felt and I don’t think you have to be in an especially happy or cheerful mood to experience it. Sometimes, we create joy just by recognizing an evocative thought or image. Other times, we cultivate joy when we acknowledge something beautiful, or sacred, or kindhearted. With this expansive understanding of joy, it becomes much more accessible to us, even in situations just like today, where the rain fills the sky and the clouds are thick.

It wasn’t long after I filled my bird feeders that my goldfinch friends ate their fill and hopped over to my birdbath for some fresh water. I fill that birdbath with clean water every morning and I don’t have grand visions about its significance. This small and trivial pool of water in my little corner of the world isn’t going to solve any of the major problems facing our planet. But I like to believe that this minor, daily gesture of goodwill adds a little weight to the side of the grand cosmic scale invested in something bigger and better. And every time a bird visits my bath for a drink of nourishing water, a small moment of joy is born in my heart, even on the darkest of days.

The truth is that each of us has daily opportunities to contribute to this grand metaphorical scale. Granted, none of us are perfect and we all, at times, will contribute to the darker side of the balance. Even still, just like the goldfinch pair that lighted on my windowsill today, I trust that every time we stop, if just for a moment, to acknowledge something good, or delightful, or kind, we contribute to a force so powerful that I can’t help but believe broader and more substantive change is made all-the-more possible because of it.