The cardinal is glowing red against the winter snow. It perches in the ash tree outside the window, glorious in its vibrant life, unaware of a watcher. A deer jumps the fence, crosses over to the bird feeder, and laps up huge numbers of black oiler sunflower seeds. He uses his tongue like a giraffe, the seeds painted on his tongue like a black coat of paint. The cardinal flies down to eat seeds at the deer's feet, his wings flashing red in the sunlight. He is oblivious of implied danger as he sits near the sharp hooves, finding bounty in the spilled feast. Behind these two lies the winter lawn, landscaped by wind and snow into strange white sculptures, decorated with the black lace of intertwined bare branches of deciduous trees and the white shawled green branches of evergreens.
As I watch, I reflect on nature, beauty, and life. How often we focus on the negative aspects of a season. We listen to the weather man go on about wind chills and Alberta Clippers. We receive e-mails and letters from the Arizona snowbirds telling us about their 80 degree sunny days of golf and basking. We see the snowplows driving their grimy sand and salt-filled loads up unto our lawns. We forget to see, feel, and enjoy the positive aspects of our environment. From there we go to thinking of our lives as drab, depressing, and meaningless.
Many of our disappointments in life result from unrealistic expectations, in not being rooted firmly in the here and now, and in not being aware of the gifts of beauty we receive each day in our environment and in the people in our lives.
Expectations can be either negative or positive and either way can produce stress and unhappiness. Dreams and the imagination are very important in life, and life would be very boring if we didn't set goals based on our dreams for ourselves, but we need to prepare to fulfill those dreams by understanding ourselves, our skills, talents, and energy levels. Each day can bring us a step closer to fulfilling our goals or dreams if we are realistic about how much time we have in this 24 hours, how much effort needs to be expended in this 24 hours, and what specific skills need to be employed in this 24 hours. We don't have endless hours in each day: We need to meet our needs for sleep, health, relating to our friends and family, and our needs for recreation.
Take the time to assess your skills and talents. Take the time to set your dreams and goals down on paper and to examine them in the light of money, resources, time needs, energy needs, and a realistic time table for achievement. Then work on them one day at a time and one step at a time.
Next, set about enjoying each 24 hours as a gift to be appreciated in little ways: the joy of breaking your fast with a well-balanced breakfast; the beauty of nature all around you as you drive to work, the greetings of fellow employees and family members who appreciate your presence, your work itself - whatever it is, it's worth doing and it's worth doing well.
Expect the miracles, live your dreams, but remember that the seasons come and go. We welcome the sun, the rain, the snow. The birds fly back, the seeds start to grow, and the trees bloom in green . We begin to live fully as we explore the world around us. Be open to reality; it comes bearing gifts.
