Yesterday, I set out on foot to the grocery store... with a song in my heart. No matter, that it was the dead of winter, cold, grey, and windy... I felt happy and at peace with the world. Then I came upon a sight that took my peace, and changed it to anger. As I rounded the corner of my neighborhood, there was a big tree service vehicle that had just felled my beloved friend, a majestic holly tree that stood a proud 25 feet in the air. It lay on it's side, amongst a scattering of delicate pointed leaves, and the lush red berries that were as beautiful as jewels to me. My heart ached, as I passed the sinister truck that boasted a decal of a skull, with the words written below, "Cold Hearted." As I passed the carnage, I put on my best scowl, and disgustedly shook my head. An old salt of a guy noticed my disdain, and feebly offered a good morning to me. If only for a minute, I acknowledged and returned the greeting, as two burly guys starting cutting off branches and throwing them into a chipper. I was saddened (and dumbfounded) that such a beautiful tree was being so carelessly mutilated. I continued my walk, feeling anger and sorrow, thinking of the injustice that had just been perpetrated. Suddenly, I noticed a piece of conglomerate that lay on the sidewalk staring at me with a pebble eye. I picked it up and noticed that the true eye of this faux stone lay below the pebble, and was looking at me with an eye of wisdom... "all is change it seemed to say," and so I put the treasure in my pocket. Upon return from the grocery store, my eye caught a pice of bark that had fallen into the street. Since I notice everything around me as I walk, it struck me that there was a natural "carving " of a bird with a smiling face on the fallen bark. It was naturally etched and beautiful, and so again, I picked it up as a treasure. It comforted me to know that my "treasures" would afford a great photo opportunity... to share the message, that although treasures are everywhere, life is change. And so, as I walked by the pile of mulch that lay where my friend, the Holly Tree, was recently murdered, I still felt a sense of loss... but one of acceptance as well.
