"… we are born to happiness and fulfillment, but we sometimes get so lost and wrapped up in the everyday events of our lives that our happiness and fulfillment seem rare." - Ted Andrews (Animal Speak)
This morning as is my habit, the camera accompanied Luke and I on our morning walk. Yesterday, in a bit of a rush, I left it behind. Most mornings, especially Thursdays when the blog is calling to be posted, we walk a two-mile loop – down the road, turn, up a path to the next road, turn, then back to our road and home. This morning Luke ignored the turn up the path and continued to follow a path toward the Ziggurat. At the same time I called for him to come back, I felt a pull to follow his lead and the Ziggurat path, thinking that we’d follow it for a short while then back track to home, but not make the climb to the top.
When I reached to fork where the path veers off to this ‘stairway to heaven’, I veered. I felt a pull to make the climb. The blog post would come in its time. And, Luke was delighted. The path makes the climb fairly easy, and the views from the top are spectacular: the Great Sand Dunes to the south, the vast San Luis Valley to the west, Poncha Pass and the Collegiate Peaks to the north, and the stunning Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Crestone Peak to the east.
The views though were only part of the gifts this day. On the way down, as I was photographing a tree stump, I noticed my shadow below me on another tree. What fun to welcome the sunshine and see myself as the sun came up over the ridge! Shadows, when we allow them to, offer us great gifts of insight and self-understanding. I paused for another few moments of gratitude and appreciation.
The next visual gift was a mountain bluebird who made a rare appearance in a tree top as we reached home. These beautiful creatures remind us of ‘unassuming confidence and happiness’ according to Ted Andrews. I think of them as cheerful, for that’s the feeling they instill in me. This gift was especially poignant since yesterday bluebird appeared on the Cheerful Way street sign near my home (and me without my camera!).
But the greatest gift of all is the gift of peace that comes with following my heart. Had I followed our normal path this morning, the post would be very different – no spectacular views, no fun with my shadow, and perhaps no bluebird or deep sense of peace.
Reminder heard – loud and clear. Over and out until next week when we celebrate Spring!
Experiment for the Week: Take a break from your normal paths in life and discover the gifts that await you.