I've had a cold. . .

I've had a bad cold, but I'm feeling SO much better today, it always reminds me of this famous passage:

Not since that summer when, at fifteen, Marcellus was slowly convalescing from a serious illness, had he experienced so keen an awareness of life's elemental properties. The wasting fever had left him weak and emaciated; but through those days of his recovery, his senses had been abnormally alert. Especially in the early morning: all colors were luminous, all sounds were intensified, all scents were heady concentrates of familiar fragrances.

Until then, the birds chirped and whistled, each species shrieking its own identifiying cry; but it was silly to say that they sang. Now the birds sang, their songs melodious and choral.

Granted, I have not been nearly as ill as dear Marcellus, but when I've been sick, and start to get better, I find myself rejoicing in each clear breath, and I'm always reminded of this passage.