Bears, Foxes, Deer and Gratitude

Refuge at Pudding Creek is the site of an old apple orchard. A local recently told me that 125 years ago there were 600 apple trees here. Many of the trees have fallen and others are shaded out as the forest fills in the land. Still, right now on the trees there are more apples than anyone can count. Every time I turn around, my sweetheart Joe has an apple in his mouth. It is is a veritable all-you-can eat apple smorgasbord buffet for humans and other creatures alike. Yesterday, I saw a banana slug eating an apple that had fallen next to the outdoor shower. Foxes and birds and maybe even the bunnies are all eating apples. The bears come at night for hours and hours to feast. They pick an apple off of a tree and take one bear sized bite out of it before throwing the rest down on the ground! The other night I stayed up a little later than usual as I wanted to see a bear. I went out into the moon light and, instead of a bear, I saw a beautiful doe crunching on apples. All of this abundance around me reminds me of how abundant life is if I can stop and see what is here rather than focusing on what is missing. It is not that I am not affected by what is missing and what is wrong in the world right now.  Instead, I strive (it's a practice, not a perfect!) to hold all of the difficulty and still connect anyway to the mystery and wonder of a doe in the moonlight and more apples than can be counted.