Empty, Full, Truth

 
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom
 - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou



People always talk about optimists and pessimists by using the "glass half full or half empty' perspective, the point being that full is more desirable than not. But why must things always be full to be good?

I was looking at a necklace that had a birdcage charm in the center, with a bird flying away from it. I thought about how I've always liked the look of vintage bird cages, but I have always strongly disliked birds being kept in cages. A caged bird would be a very, very sad gift for me to receive. Taking away a bird's ability to fly (FLY! something I've always dreamed about) and putting them in a cage to hop around simply hurts my heart. The necklace with the bird flying away from the cage - released or escaped - makes me smile. Fly, go, be free.

I started to think about other things that are better empty than full:
A heart that releases pain and bitterness and is finally ready for hope and joy.
A jail cell that wrongly held an innocent prisoner.
A page before hurtful words were written.
Space before hurtful words were spoken.
A hand before it picked up a weapon.


A few days ago, the house in Cleveland where three women were imprisoned as slaves after being kidnapped as teenagers was torn down. It had been thankfully empty for months, but when the house was torn down it made national news. The emptying and destroying of the house was a cause for celebration and relief, because of the horror it had secretly held for so long. Emptied and gone. Bittersweet victory.

It's circumstances and perspective, isn't it? I was listening to a recent "This American Life" podcast, and there was a segment in which a prisoner was arguing with a guard because he felt the guard had given him a punishment he didn't deserve. The prisoner stated,"There's three sides to every story. Your side, my side, and the truth."
Half empty, half full, and whatever the exact measurement or the silver lining or the unseen facts which all together comprises the truth. It's not always just one way. There's the bird in the cage that someone loves and cherishes as a pet. There's the bird who has never known freedom but may have a sense of something more. There's the bird who is unable to fly and would die on his own. There's the companies which profit from birds who never know freedom, and there's the people who wouldn't have a job if the companies didn't exist. It's not a perfect world. That is the sadness and the privilege we have in being alive and being able to make choices and leave legacies.


I love the Maya Angelo poem "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings". My friend Anna introduced me to it, saying that she imaged the title with a wink, a poem that lets you in on a special secret. The funny thing that I happened to discover when looking up the poem again, is that it was inspired by another poem, very similar in nature. "Sympathy" was written by Paul Laurence Dunbar. He, like Angelou, was an African American poet. I would guess that to both of them, themes of freedom were important. Dunbar was the first African American to become a poet of critical acclaim, yet it is Angelou whose work is more widely known. Angelou's poem is much more hopeful than the original, however upon reading "Sympathy" it is clear that Angelou's poem and in fact the word-for-word title was inspired by Dunbar's writing. Once again, there's more than one side to every story. Only one truth, but more than one perspective.


So, may we all be thankful for emptiness so that we can delight in a joyful filling. May we see all sides of things in order to discern the truth. May we seek for beauty even in dark places. In all times, may we sing.