Beloved,

What a fabulous weekend we just had. Indian Summer
was never more beautiful. Not only were we able to
go outside with just short sleeves, the sun for five days
just lifted all of our spirits.

I woke up one of those mornings and gasped with surprise
and pleasure after I raised the blinds and looked out my
bow window facing the lake. The water was just like glass
except it was a rainbow of colors. The sun was at such an
angle that it illumined all the colors of the trees and even the
few white clouds above. Our fall colors until that day were
quite dull I thought but it could been the many days of rain
that made it appear like that. The colors were so vibrant
and it was such a glorious site of seeing double the scene
in front of me. The reality of the clouds in the sky and
the colors of the actual trees against the reflection of all
that in the water.

In fact, as I was mesmerized by this, a man appeared
with a camera and a tripod. I have no idea who he
was, I had never seen him before and there he was
on the beach quite close to the water and he captured
that moment in time with his camera. I bet it ends up
on a calendar or in a book or who knows what.

I was in such gratitude for being here at this particular
moment in real life and not just enjoying a picture of it.
How blessed I am to live here and get these awesome
moments to treasure. Of course, the sun changes and
then the breeze picks up which ripples the water and
changes the whole effect. But….WOW, I wish I
could sear it into my memory yet need to appreciate
the very moment I am in and move on to the next one.

Of course after that, I am sure you know I went out
in my kayak, how could I not? As I am out in the
water with a current now, I began to look up at
all the trees and the many variations of colors that
each tree had and how Mother Nature makes such
a beautiful painting of the kaleidoscope of hues.
I seemed to go into a meditation of sorts although
I was aware of where I was .

The thought entered my mind of how much similarity
there was between humans and trees. The earth is
certainly abundant with both. We both have our
beginnings as seeds. Not all seeds grow into trees
or humans. As the seed is germinated, it begins
to grow and is protected and nurtured by a
womb or the dirt that encases it. The seedling
is like a newborn who needs to be nurtured and
protected while in infancy. They need mature adults
whether they be human parents or grown trees
that shelter and give the young sprout a chance
to grow into maturity.

There are stages of growth in humans and trees.
Seasons reflect also the newborn (Spring), young
adulthood (Summer), middle age (Fall) and maturity
(Winter). Trees begin in Spring with buds which
bloom into light colored leaves, then into Summer
where the leaves get a deeper color, then into
Fall where their individuality of color stands out,
then into Winter where all the leaves (hair) fall and
they stand naked in their strength just like a senior
adult.

I began to wonder if trees felt different and perhaps
alone like so many humans do. They are all green
at the beginning and have unique shaped leaves just
as we humans have unique faces and bodies.
Have you ever noticed that similar trees are usually
in groups but then there are the ones who all of a
sudden appear different? Just like people, there
are those that “appear” different. Lo and behold,
they (trees and humans) are different to enhance
the traditional ones.

A beautiful red tree in the fall is quite unique, did it
ever feel like it was the only one in a crowd of
yellow, orange and green trees? Do you feel
different than all your family, friends and peers?

I then realized that the beautiful red tree “enhanced ”
all the other colors. It brought out the uniqueness of
each color which by itself would not have created the
beautiful symphony of colors that met and pleased my
eye. Are you afraid to be unique? Your uniqueness
can only bless and amplify the beauty of those around
you. It takes all the colored trees and all the humans
to be so spectacular.

If we look at humanity as a whole, the uniqueness does
not stand out just as the trees do not reflect the beauty
of each leaf and its uniqueness. You have to look at
the individual leaf or person to notice the beauty of each.
Each leaf of every tree has its own Divine Timing and
purpose just as it echoes each individual human’s timing.
Not all the leaves turn color at the same time and each
one is destined to fall to the ground in its own time.
Each human does not reach its peak at the same age
and contributes to the whole whatever “stage” it is in.

Have you ever looked closely at a leaf to see just how
unique it is. Not even a snowflake of which we have
innumerable are the same,each is unique. So are
humans each unique and irreplaceable. There is no
one just like you, you have a purpose that only you
can fill and you fill it by just BEING you. You are
not called a human being for nothing, you are not
a human DOING. Just be…….like the leaf that
appears to just hang there until it falls. The beautiful
loving energy that is you only needs to BE.

AND YOU WILL AFFECT ALL OF THE WORLD

Lets be proud of the kaleidoscope that we are as we
love each others differences. I find it so hard to put
into words just what I felt and became aware of
while sharing myself with the trees and the water.
I do know to the depths of my soul that the “whole”
is not complete even if one individual is missing. It
takes all of us with our unique color or flavor to
make us complete, a whole world.

Let me leave you with the beauty and simplicity yet
joyfulness of this video.

A sweet, short video written, performed and animated
by Wendy J. Francisco, describes the love shown her by
both her Dog and her God. With this simple piece of
poetry, Wendy has racked up 3 million hits on YouTube
in two years. (Happy video is sure to wag your tail!)

Love and Light

Mary Grace

www.TheWoundedChalice.com
www.TheWoundedChalice.com/blog
TheWoundedChalice@gmail.com

PO Box 403
Wales, MA 01081, USA
413-245-3977