{"product_id":"in-the-company-of-birds-k-s-nikakis-9780645192728","title":"In the Company of Birds: Poems from an Outback Odyssey","description":"What do we lose when we cease to be a child and become an adult? What precious thing do we let slip away and barely notice? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWatch any child in a garden or park or wilderness area as they discover the natural world. Listen to their oohs of delight at the sight of a caterpillar on a leaf, their excited squeals as a butterfly bobs past, their clap of hands and gap-toothed grins at the gambol of some young animal. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eChildren delight in the most common and mundane elements of the natural world with a pure and unsullied joy that many of us, somewhere in our journey to adulthood, have lost. We largely remain unaware of our loss, although I recall the exact moment I became conscious that while I \u003ci\u003esaw\u003c\/i\u003e the beauty of the natural world, I no longer \u003ci\u003efelt\u003c\/i\u003e it in the deepest parts of my soul. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs adults, we might continue to admire the natural world's beauty on an intellectual level and seek connection with it for our physical, mental, and spiritual health. It's one of the reasons I set out on a 50 day journey through Australia's southern wilderness, but how often do we ignore the sparrows at our feet in our eagerness to admire the eagles that soar above? And when so many things demand our adult attention, how do we even make time to look in the first place? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBeauty surrounds us, as it surrounds a child, but our adult gaze seeks out the extraordinary and so blinds us to the ordinary, denying us the visceral joy that such things deliver. To reclaim this joy, we must suspend our adult judgement and clear our gaze as a child does. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA journey in the company of birds allows us the time and space to do so. Birds require us to search the ground as well as the sky, to delight in the raven's harsh croak as well as the honeyeater's sweet song, to take pleasure in the sparrow's brown plumage as well as the fairywren's blue. And as we still, and look, and listen, we are ultimately rewarded with the return of all we've lost. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnd so, let us begin this journey of rediscovery, in the company of birds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e K. S. Nikakis\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0645192724\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780645192728\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Sov Media\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/18\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 182\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.41lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.39d","brand":"K. S. Nikakis","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48440522572031,"sku":"9780645192728","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_8913b0e4-ffe0-49eb-b935-bdeaf7753b6c.jpg?v=1777182995","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/in-the-company-of-birds-k-s-nikakis-9780645192728","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}