Always Learning

  Rising before the crack of dawn has its good points.  A hot mug of coffee and a hike in the brisk morning air helps me to face the day and whatever it brings.  This early morning rising also allows me to view things in a bit different perspective.  For instance, every day, I meander past the trees near the pier.   Every day, I hardly even notice them unless there is some bird or other critter clambering about the limbs.  The trees themselves have sort of blended in with the background.  I admit that I am one that tells folks to stop and take note of their surroundings but, as of late, I have been falling into the same trap that holds others' imaginations.  I had always hoped that I would never become ensnared by the busyness of the day.  It was in my grand scheme of things that I would be alert and observant enough to see hope in all things.  I suppose you could say I have failed.

  The other morning, I was out walking along the marsh edge when the eastern sky started to brighten a bit.  It was then that I spotted the bare Popcorn Tree sitting in the midst of a couple of dead pines.  The Popcorn Tree is still alive and well but has lost its leaves due to the winter's chill.  Still, the tree was breathtaking.  The inkiness of the early morn made the perfect silhouette.  The branches of black stood out sharply against the blues and purples of the pre-dawn sky.  How had I missed this before?  

  I have now made a vow to be far more observant than I have been in the past.  I will live what I have been trying to teach.  The beauty of the obscure will become a goal.  Lesson learned.