Hope

Apple store bounty

Orion and I went to the apple store at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum last weekend.  It was a little bit disappointing.  The season is at least two weeks behind and there wasn’t as much variety in apples available as I’m used to.  I know I’ll hit a few more orchard based apple houses in October as I drive back and forth to all the events I’m attending.  Still, I found what I needed.  I even found a treasure, hawthorn jam, before we were on our way.

Driving home on the freeway I noticed something along the side of the road.  A wild turkey!  It was all by itself blithely pecking along the edges of the roadway.  Seeing the turkey, so out-of-place and yet so comfortably at home shifted my mood entirely.  I was delighted.

Not on the side of the freeway, but still a delightful surprise.

Thinking about the turkey made me realize how often the Universe sends something my way that makes me change the way I’m looking at the world.  Sometimes it’s a bounty, like finding money on the sidewalk.  Sometimes it’s running into an old friend by accident.  Sometimes it’s a bit of whimsy, even something I’ve seen many times before but just never noticed.  Sometimes it’s something like the turkey, so incongruous that I am struck with delight.

Taking on the shadow doesn’t mean giving up or shutting down.  There are lights in the world to guide my way.  There is always a hand offering hope in the darkness.  Remembering to be grateful for the challenges as well as the gifts helps to make me more aware, more open to the hand of hope when it appears.

I drive past him often, and he still makes me smile.