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Small Moments of Hope
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
11:04:00 AM EDT
Written by mandy787 Blog about this entry |
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11:04:00 AM EDT
Small Moments of Hope
Yesterday, when walking my dog, Tina in Central Park in the early evening, something caught my eye.
A young woman was kneeling quietly down beside a baby stroller, pointing something out to the small child contained within.
As Tina and I got closer, I could see the woman was pointing to a pair of ducks walking together in the brush.
The small boy in the stroller (about two-years-old) stared at the ducks with a look of wonder on his face and he smiled.
Normally, this is the small type of event that is easily overlooked. After all, Moms with babies in strollers is a common sight in any park.
But, something about this simple scene touched me and brought a smile to my face.
A Mother was teaching her young child to quietly appreciate and respect nature.
One suspects this is not going to be a child who, in a few short years, will be running after, smacking his hands and trying to frighten off ducks or pigeons.
Instead, the smile of wonder and delight on the small boy's face seemed to foretell a child who would grow up with a sense of sensitivity and understanding towards animals.
After quietly passing by and walking on from this peaceful scene, I realized the smile in my heart and on my face was one of hope.
"Hope" (to me) doesn't come from the mouths of preachers, politicians, scholars or philosophers, but rather, from the small scenes like these that we are lucky enough to catch and witness in everyday life.
I feel hope and wonder (like the small child) when watching ducks swim peacefully across the ponds, lakes or reservoirs. I feel hope when watching my dog, Tina scampering in the park and introducing herself to other loved and happy dogs. I feel hope when petting or playing with my cats and thanking God for every healthy day that they are with me.
I feel hope for every animal we are able to rescue and find loving, sensitive peopleto take them home and cherish them for the rest of their lives.
But, mostly, the greatest hope of all is in the smile of a young child's face when noticing animals and life for perhaps the first time.
Because that speaks to the hope of tomorrow. -- PCA
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Written by mandy787 Blog about this entry |
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4/30/08 5:45 PM
My greatest joy right now is knowing that, even in today's abysmal housing market where we thought we could not afford to be choosy, the buyers for our beautiful home and land are also cat rescuers/cat lovers and that the enclosed "catio" and cat-fenced compound are two of their favorite aspects of what will shortly be their and their four rescued cats' new home. YES!