By: Gabriela Yareliz
This week, I visited the most beautiful estate with someone very special to me. It was a fantastic day trip. The estate was sprinkled with beautiful, climbable trees; manicured green grass; complete with the picturesque and harmless giant black ants that look like the type that would steal away your picnic sandwich. The estate was quiet, a quiet that makes you feel like you can hear the apples growing on the trees. Yes, there were apples growing on trees. There was a certain softness to the place. It was made complete by a large rose garden, exploding with all kinds of plants, including a hot pink mystery plant; there was a family of deer I am pretty sure I scared; a little stream hidden in the woods, and a giant library filled with books.
In this giant library, I saw all kinds of books. I think there was a multi-volume series called “The Struggle,” or was it “The Crisis”? I nominate that as the series of 2016. *I am laughing guys*
And so I finished off the week, and my mind was wandering to that beautiful place. I just came out of an almost three hour meeting. It is in those moments of brain fry that we treasure the small stream, quiet library and rose gardens the most. Mentally, we are chasing the family of deer, hoping the deer will think we are cute enough to be adopted into their circle of trust. You know, that circle and relationship where they don’t run away. #deergoals #Iamcute
This week, like this year, was filled with difficult moments and memorable moments. When you work with people, you face being insulted and yelled at by mentally impaired; you face people who make your existence harder because they dislike where they are in their own life and you face joys, lots of joys and cute deer.
My week, post-day trip reminded me how therapeutic nature is. How it changes our state of mind and how it affects our emotions. I keep coming back to the deer. To be fair, one can find magic in the city, too. It’s a different kind of magic. Yesterday, I saw a sunset that was breathtaking. Just now, on the train, a child blew some bubbles that caught the side of my eye. I saw the glossy globes move across the train until they came to pop and sanitize, in a spritz, the gross train floor and a guy’s brown Converse sneakers. Life is filled with so many moments that help us get through the difficult moments.
I have come to realize how important it is to have these moments. To be aware. We need to find these moments. Not everything in life can be a struggle and mortifying. Take a long walk and hold the hand of someone you love, so you can remember that when someone else treats you with contempt. Sit outside on a warm toasty day, so you can remember that warmth on the cold rainy days to come. Admire the flowers so you can remember their scent when you are crossing the street in the snow, in winter months.
There is a quote that basically says that nothing lasts forever; not the good times and certainly not the bad times. Every moment has something (beauty, a person, an idea, a detail) we can treasure. Let’s take those opportunities, and collect the pearls for the moments that seem dark and endless. Because nothing is endless, except Love.
PS. Sending my hellos to my deer friends upstate. (Was that estate really in upstate? Ehh– it was outside of the city, and people would leave their car doors unlocked and windows down… Yes, I will count it as upstate).
GABRIELA YARELIZ 