Golden Blessings

I can't recall how many dirt paths and fields full of weeds I walked through before I discovered this gem of a scene.  It was a lot, though.  I remember exactly what I thought when I saw it, too.  I thought my trek through some drab and dark areas had finally paid off, for me to be rewarded with such breathtaking beauty.  It was a blessing to have found it, because I was frustrated at the time, thinking there's nothing "good" here and I was ready to turn around and go home.  Then I rounded a curve and I stopped just long enough to allow my gaze to settle on this small area of water, almost black like storm clouds, surrounded by leaves of brilliant gold.  I'm sure my gasp of wonder was heard all the way to the heavens.

During the storms of life which inevitably come along, I often pull up this picture and stare at it.  It reminds me of how in the midst of the dull, the drab, the dark, the unexciting, unfulfilling and even painful times of life, there is a blessing waiting.  The day I found this sweet little spot in the middle of nature, I was hot, sweaty, tired, in pain and bug bitten.  I was ready to give up.  Once I found this place, I immediately became thankful I hadn't given up.  The place was a Golden Blessing, given to me as reward for my perseverance.  

Just this week, a situation came along which made me want to spend time with this picture.  Even though things seem hurtful, and even though there's a huge negative rift in the air because of this situation, I know there's a blessing in it, somewhere.  Things seem out of balance and uncertain -- yet I know there's a blessing in it, somewhere.  Things seem dark, but I know there's light in the situation, somewhere.

I think back to many other similar situations I've been placed in during my art career, and all have turned out to have a hidden blessing.  The blessing isn't something I'm aware of at the time; it's something which has showed up later.  Kind of like watching a storm...the kind where the clouds move overhead, the sky gets all dark, the rain, lightening and thunder perform in the sky for a while, and then a short time later, the clouds part, revealing the sun beaming through from behind.  It's then you know the storm is over.  The thing is, you don't know how long the storm will last.  But eventually, it will be over, and the sun will shine through again.

So with this current situation, I know there's a blessing in it somewhere.  Just like how it was when I walked and walked and walked before I found this beautiful place, I don't know when the blessing will show up.  I just have to have patience and trust it will show up.  And I have to be willing to see it and receive it when it does.  I can only hope it's as beautiful as this scene portrays.

--Jai