I have been attending to family life and its issues since publishing my cozy mystery, Disappearance at Sycamore Grove, in addition to taking stock of next steps in my writing journey. I’ve looked at where I’ve been and where I want to be in the next few months. My review included reading my first published book, Baxter Tales, Transformed by a Basset Hound Who Taught Me About Coping with Change, and I came across an appropriate vignette and life lesson for our current life circumstances.  I hope you enjoy it.

“If We’re Looking for Bees, We Might Miss The….”

            “One day, as I talked with a therapy patient who was beginning to come out of a long, agitated depression, she expressed surprise at noticing some very pleasant events and responding with genuine happiness.  Her comment was, “This isn’t how I am; I’m a depressed person!”  Her reaction sent me into a reverie about the process we have of searching for what we expect, while missing the marvelous details in front of us.  These thoughts led me to a tender memory of Baxter.

            It was an early spring day, with a cool dampness in the air, except for the warm sunspot in which Baxter lay.  From the high wooden deck, the tall deciduous trees remained essentially colorless and bare, their small leaves not fully opened.  The dark blue green of the fir trees and the pale green of the early lawn were the only colorful spots in the surrounding landscape.  Baxter lay in his sunspot with his eyes drooping and his ears covering his snoot. 

            THEN, in an instant, an aggressive roar, a dangerous buzz, a BEE… no, a JUNE BUG… no, another hostile near attack, a roar, buzz, whirr!  ALARM!  Where is it?

            Baxter lumbered to his feet, swinging his big head to follow the roar.  In his slow movements, would he be stung on his sleek, fat butt?  He raised his head and lowered it in time to avoid the whirring helicopter of sharp bill and beating wings, as an exuberant being saluted him at about eye level.

            It’s a hummingbird!!  Beautiful creature, incredibly strong! The first of the season, come to demand nectar and say, “Notice me; it’s not winter anymore; it’s spring.” 

            Baxter followed the tiny bird’s fly-in maneuvers across the deck, as it hovered by the patio door and above the pink geranium, still in the tender bud clusters of early spring.  With his head still down, Baxter watched and wagged his tail-very tentatively.”

LESSON: “When alarmed by change, slow down, open your eyes, take time to focus, be open to pleasant surprises, and look for them again.”

I hope that as we look around us today, viewing the disturbing circumstances both nationally and internationally, we can remain open to the pleasant surprises the universe provides, despite us.

Be well, my friends,

Suanne