Friday, June 27, 2008

What Am I Missing?


Last night the skies opened up and drenched our garden. Afterwards, the sun poked its face through a ribbon of cloud, giving me permission to venture outside. I walked round the front yard, admiring the various shapes and colours of the plants. Droplets of water clung to the leaves and settled in the petals of the flowers.

Weeds had seemingly sprouted everywhere during the downpour. I plucked away tendrils of vines that slithered through the garden and snaked up the bodies of plants in their battle for takeover. I was caught up in my mission to supply much needed breathing space for our flowers and didn't notice that my husband had joined me.

He stood back and surveyed the front yard.

"Did you see the strawberries?" he asked.

Strawberries?...Tufts of gnarled grass lay at his feet. I bent down and took a closer look. Nestled amongst the tangled grass was a treasure trove of tiny rubies glinting in the sun, each one the size of my baby fingernail. I closed my eyes and popped a couple in my mouth. They burst open on my tongue, barely there but more flavourful than the larger strawberries I'm used to seeing in the supermarkets.

When I opened my eyes, my husband was waving his arms in the air.

He pointed in the general direction of the pond and mouthed the words, "Did you see the fish?"

Fish?...I was still basking in the wonder of bright red jewels sliding down my throat.

I didn't see it at first. The surface of the water was teeming with a life of its own, and a large display of purple wildflowers waved in the breeze next to it.

A large bass suddenly appeared out of nowhere, gliding swiftly past me in its silent world just under the surface of the water. I watched him for a few minutes, then he disappeared into the hidden depths of the pond.

I was grateful for the gifts of these gems hidden just beneath the surface of life. But I couldn't help but wonder what I would have missed if I'd been alone. In my quest to vanquish our weed population, I had forgotten to remain present to the beauty of all life that surrounds me.

Sometimes we need to stand back, survey the larger community, and be willing to look beneath the surface. There's an entire world of opportunities and experiences just lying in wait for you.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What imagery, Maureen Lee. And greetings from Woodstock, Ontario. I heard about your blog from the Ideal Poetry Contest which was covered in our local newspaper.

Your ending 'Sometimes we need to stand back, survey the larger community, and be willing to look beneath the surface. There's an entire world of opportunities and experiences just lying in wait for you.'

These two lines certainly spoke to me. How I need to take a step back, look at the bigger picture, and not just the cover. You will be interested to know that I have a brother with Down syndrome, and often it is his outward appearance that gets noticed rather than his big heart. And, for those who are willing to look beneath the surface, see the treasure. Very well written. I thank you.

Maureen Lee said...

Thank you, Susan, for giving us a perfect illustration of what is not obvious to the naked eye - your brother's big heart - for when we are willing to look past the outward appearance, we are blessed beyond measure by the treasures hidden within.

Anonymous said...

Susan and Maureen, you comments are absolutely right.

As we can not judge the overall quality of a book by only its cover, so can we not judge the overall quality of a person by only his/her intellect.

Anonymous said...

The imagery on this blog is of the highest quality. Far better than any other blog I have visited, and I visit many.

Congratulations for shedding favourable light in abundance on a subject which most 'normal' persons either ignore, or prefer to not recognize at all.

Anonymous said...

your discription of watching the fish is wunderfull. reminds me of when my Grampa first tot me too fish. it is so relxing to be around fish and outdoors that a person could easy forget they have autismm or down sindrome.

Anonymous said...

your rite about lookin under the surface of things you never no whatcha might find espeshully in people.

im glad you an ideal-way are tryin too make a world of opportunities for down sindrom and autism people.

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