NOVEMBER 18
I don’t really remember the day I first felt that all was not
irremediably lost. Was it a child’s smile that awoke me, or
a sign of sadness exposed in a place I didn’t want it seen?
Or a sense of responsibility? Or had I finally given up on
despair? Perhaps I was simply caught up again in the game
of life.
—ANNE PHILIPEIt comes as a surprise to us. Almost, we never thought it
would happen. But one day we realize we are taking pleas-
ure in the world once more. It is doubly a gift—this rediscov-
ery of the joy of life—because we thought it was gone from
us forever.
And there it is—like early spring flowers, pushing their
way through March’s lingering snow. They are an unexpec-
ted gift and their beauty calls our attention to new life all
around us.
My step quickens, my heart leaps in gratitude, for the surprising
return of the beauty in the world.