conditions of a solitary bird

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The conditions of a solitary bird are five:

The first, that it flies to the highest point; 

the second, that it does not suffer for company, 
not even of its own kind;

the third, that it aims its beak to the skies;

the fourth, that it does not have a definite color;

the fifth, that it sings very softly.


—St. John of the Cross 

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