I live in the suburbs and although you wouldn't think it of New Jersey, we have lots of wild life. We regularly see deer, possum, fox, skunk, raccoon, all kinds of birds and ducks as well as the occasional bear. I was very disappointed to find out that a bear was right across the street from where I live the other day, and I missed it. I love critters of all kinds. I will catch a mouse in a have-a-heart trap before I will kill it and I have been known to escort a squirrel or a family of raccoons out of my kitchen when they found their way in through an open door or a window screen they decided to slice open. I rescued a baby squirrel when I was a young teen and “Fuzzy” slept in a big parrot cage next to my bed and wandered my room and the rest of the house when I wasn't at school. I am all grown up and I still feel a sense of excitement when I see a porcupine in the wild or a pileated woodpecker eating insects from a dead tree.
I appreciate life and I find great joy in being in nature. Last weekend we took our two grandsons to a local pond and it was delightful to watch them make discoveries and display their sense of wonder at what they were seeing. Turtles were amazing, little fish a curiosity, a broken robin's egg a treasure. Two goose “fedders” were the find of the day and the sounds of ducks, geese and frogs a symphony. I felt so blessed to be in the presence of little ones making discoveries of things that delight me, too. It reminded me that little things do mean a lot and that I can have a wonderful time doing something as simple as walking around a pond just blocks from my home and things don't have to be big or elaborate to be wonderful.
My world has gotten just a little bit smaller over the past decade. I don't travel the way I used to or go into the city as often for a concert or for dinner. I rarely go out in the evening and I plan activities over the weekend carefully. But just because my life is different than it used to be, it doesn't mean it's not wonderful. I have found great pleasure in the things I can do and I am done worrying about what I can't. I think I have always been a person who could make a little out of a lot and I don't measure my success by what I have or what I wear. My treasures are the people I love and care for, and the experiences I have that make me feel fully alive. I never tire of being in places where there is an abundance of natural beauty. I love to take a walk in the summer woods or on a beach at dusk. Those kind of experiences are energizing rather than draining and I always come away refreshed and renewed..
No comments:
Post a Comment