This morning, I found myself listening carefully to the robin’s song. It’s a series of curvaceous chirps and chortles ornamented with grace notes and mordants. As if that weren’t vocally complex enough, each call is different. Though the opening gesture is often the same, the sequence that follows can be in any order and of any length. The variations seem to be limitless.

Was the robin consciously selecting the order? Or did the order of his song come spontaneously to him as he welcomed the dawn? My vote is for spontaneous. Complete freedom of expression within a recognized set of choices. For a visual reference, look at Jackson Pollock to see what I mean.

For that matter, “complete freedom of expression within a recognized set of choices” could be our Independence Day theme this Wednesday.