✦
Where They Were Waiting
There are days when wonder arrives like a star-filled sky.
And there are quieter days.
Days of warm bread.
A cup of tea.
A bird on the fence.
Hands in the soil.
A friend remembering your son.
The scent of lavender carried on the evening air.
For a long time, I thought I was searching for extraordinary moments.
Slowly, I began noticing that many of the things I was looking for had never left.
They were simply waiting.
Waiting in ordinary life.
These are little visits from that place.
They are not meant to explain anything.
Only to notice.
Perhaps they have been waiting for you, too.
Do You Think I'm a Chill Guy?
I was walking through the community garden when a little boy rode past on his bicycle.
His dad was riding just behind him.
As they disappeared down the path, I heard him ask,
"Dad...do you think I'm a chill guy?"
I smiled all the way home.
The garden was full of tomatoes, sparrows, weeds waiting to be pulled, and flowers opening into summer.
And yet, somehow, it was that one small question that stayed with me.
Children have a beautiful way of asking things without pretending they already know the answer.
Perhaps that's part of growing gently.
Not becoming certain.
Remaining willing to ask.
Sometimes the smallest questions become the ones we remember longest.
The Leaf Was Still Growing
I brought home a large Russian kale leaf from the garden.
Later, while I was looking at it on the counter, I noticed something I hadn't expected.
Tiny new leaves were beginning to grow right from the body of the leaf.
I stood there smiling.
I thought bringing it home had been the end of its story.
Apparently...
the kale had other ideas.
Sometimes life keeps growing in places we think have already finished.
I'm beginning to trust that a little more.
The Tea Was Finished
I made buckwheat tea.
After a few cups, I looked into the pot and noticed the buckwheat had softened.
So I ate it.
I smiled.
I had been making tea.
The buckwheat had been quietly becoming lunch.
I'm beginning to notice that things don't always become what I first imagined.
Sometimes they become something just as nourishing.
Sometimes even more so.
✧ Return to the field of stars