from Daily Riches:

One bright November day, a small, color-splashed chunk of concrete tumbled into my hands. It still conjures up strong memories as I recall the source of that concrete—the Berlin Wall—once a symbol of hate and separation, but changed forever in one shining moment. My friend Vigdis and I witnessed people stride into freedom as others pummeled the wall with humble hammers and chisels — fueled by the blood and tears of all those who went before. A young German banged furiously at the graffiti-covered wall near me, launching a bright, palm-sized piece of wall into my hands. However, the most profound moment came later as we sipped coffee in a café and spotted an elderly gentleman who had just crossed into freedom, nearly floating by the window amidst the throngs. His eyes tilted upward in total awe, sheer amazement spilling over at the spectacle of freedom before him. He was lit from within, and the joy he radiated was so palpable that it nearly took my breath away. How could anyone raised in freedom ever comprehend the deep sense of elation and gratitude in that beautiful face? It’s a vision I treasure every time my eye rests on my personal piece of a miracle.

Being from the suburbs of a big city, the wild places have long enticed me to explore their awe-inspiring secrets. One day on a hike in Glacier Park, a granddaddy of a bighorn sheep wheeled to a halt in front of me and licked my hand rather than pitching me off a mountain ledge. Another time, an inquisitive, bright-eyed red fox peeked at us all during dinner at our Isle Royale campsite. Friends and I once quietly cross-country skied past a huge moose contentedly drinking from a lake in the Tetons. One golden autumn morning in the Canadian Rockies, we awoke to a male elk rearing back his head and bugling into the frosty air, and a few hours later, encountered a silver-tipped grizzly rooting through newly fallen snow for dinner roots. I remain blessed by these moments of wild serendipity and the sheer magnificence of the natural wonders on this planet, and I’m grateful for having stepped off the beaten path long enough to have experienced them.

FROM: Daily Riches: A Journal of Gratitude and Awareness, Dr. Jane Bluestein, Judy Lawrence and S.J. Sanchez. (Health Communications, Inc., 1998)

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