Thursday, June 23, 2011

Find the Unexpected

"Go find the unexpected," my sister said as I left for my walk.

On my ordinary, routine walk, I am instructed to find the unexpected.

Some people travel the world to see much, and some people stay in their place to see much.

This morning I found three things of note:

1. A natural bouquet of blue chickory and orange day lilies, twined by sun, wind and growing so that they formed a unit, seven blue blossoms and two orange. I stopped and examined them, petals perfect in their imperfection. A Japanese artist could not have done better.

2. A young bunny sitting by the side of the road, so very still, perhaps hoping I wouldn't notice, so small and complete in it's fur. It knew itself too exposed, though, so it ran ahead of me and hopped off into the grass, which waved and then was still. When I came to the place where bunny had left the road, I saw a splay-legged, fragile little body huddled on a patch of earth exposed by mowing. It seemed the essence of hope and fear, combined, wanting to not be seen. It reminded me of us, how we wish to be seen, deeply seen, and simultaneously wish to go unnoticed, under the radar.

3. The constancy of changing green and growing things, the glory of the ordinary.

These were three things noticed, unexpected, on this morning's ordinary, routine walk. There were also many other things of note, to go unmentioned here.

P.S. My sister came yesterday, to my delight, not quite unexpected but on short notice. We had a rare overnight, and it is lovely to have a "real" visit.

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