Reflections in a Pond: A Space for Gratitude

The images today are tough: fires, harassment and assault, unkindness in general. Maybe it’s because it’s the holiday season, or maybe I’m just tired of seeing the ugliness. I know we can be better. Good lives within each of us…this I truly believe!

So as I walked past one of my favorite ponds, I felt the gratitude welling up inside. What a glorious gift, gratitude is!

I love walking with my kiddo, especially through the small park near our home.  And I especially love the pond in that park.

A glorious thing it is, this pond, set to the side of the park, surrounded by Evergreen trees and lush green grass.

In the early mornings, it’s a smooth glass-like beauty, reflecting the sky and clouds and trees.

Its surface only disturbed by the ripples that form as the ducks meander across the tiny ecosystem.

It reflects the earth back to me. I see the clouds lazily moving across the water, along with the Ducks and Geese and Blue Herons that stop by for a rest.

On breezy days, the water ripples with tiny waves, reminding me of its bigger sister, the ocean. But even on those days, I see the blue sky and green trees reflecting.

Even in the times of disturbance, that glorious pond reflects back to me the grandeur of this earth, my home. My glorious and lovely home presented to me in beauty, in a tiny pond, in a tiny park, in the tiny part of my world.

What a gift such a reflection is.

Call to Action: Think about 5 things you are grateful for! How many days in a row can you commit to being grateful?