Once there was a girl who was feeling really sad. She’d been sitting on a bench and couldn’t find any reason to get up. In fact, she knew if she got up, she would only find more sadness, so she just stayed put.
Then, one afternoon, during a big yawn, she noticed something floating in the sky. A ribbon? Something purple, or maybe even gold… and shiny... What in the world?
She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. Oh, the way it danced—so magnificent—as if it were performing on the greatest stage in all the land.
As she watched this ribbon, she noticed it was twirling in the air closer and closer. Then, the ribbon did something miraculous—it floated down and landed right in her lap. And when she touched it, she couldn’t believe how soft it was—as if made of the finest silk.
Oh, was she excited! As if witnessing a miracle! Like a pet that had chosen her! Her, of all undeserving people! She felt so grateful, and she closed her eyes and thanked it for choosing her.
After that moment, the girl felt happy enough to leave her bench. She took the ribbon on walks. Held it during tea. Even slept with it around her wrist in bed. So long as she had her magic ribbon, all was ok in the world. She felt safe, special, and happy.
Then one day she, she was strolling through the park when she noticed something else in the sky. It was only for the most brief instant, but the moment she tried to see what it was, she loosened her grip from her ribbon just as a wind began to blow, and after the ribbon fell to the ground, it began to twirl and blow away.
The girl panicked, running after the ribbon and apologizing. “Please don't go! I shouldn’t have stopped to look at anything other than you! You, are all I need!”
The girl continued to chase her beloved ribbon, but it was already twirling too high to reach.
The girl then tried climbing a nearby tree to see if she could catch it, but she lost her grip on a branch and fell to the ground, skinning her knee.
On the ground, she cried. Not because of her bloodied knee, but because she knew it had been too good to be true. Of course the only good thing to happen to her would disappear from her grasp, just like everything else always did. “Who am I, after all, but no one. Deserving of nothing.”
The girl decided it was more sensible to return to her bench. And there, she stayed.
A few days later, an older man wearing a brown fedora walking two little furry white dogs sat down on the bench next to hers. The man noticed the sad girl crying on and off. And so he decided to say something.
“You seem awfully sad,” he said softly. “Did you lose someone or something special?”
The girl nodded, too upset to share any of the details.
“I’m sorry. I understand. I lost something special recently, too.”
The girl looked up at him, curious.
“My dog passed. He was my best friend for 19 years. He got me through my wife’s passing. Never left my side. And then one morning, he didn’t wake up.”
“I’m so sorry,” the girl said.
“Thank you. You know, after he passed, I used to come to this bench and all I could think about, and all I could see, was what was missing. My wife. My sweet dog, Charlie. I was hurting a lot. And then one day, I saw a dog. Across the park. Without an owner.
“At first, I didn’t get up. I figured his owner was probably nearby. But no owner ever showed up. My hips were hurting that day, so I decided to whistle. And sure enough, that dog came running.
“He was dirty but full of life and love. He kept nuzzling against my leg and I wondered if I still had some treats in my jacket pocket, and lo and behold, I did. So I gave him a few treats and he wouldn’t leave my side. He didn’t have a collar. And when I got up to walk home, the dog followed.
“I wound up bringing him in and that dog wouldn’t leave my side. Oh, my mind came up with all sorts of conclusions: This was my dog, reincarnated, coming back. This dog was sent by my wife. This dog was meant for me.
“But of course, after I posted that I’d found him in all the community threads, his owner contacted me, so grateful. Explaining that the landscaper had forgotten to close the gate.
“At first, I was really sad. But then I told myself I’d better get used to it. That loss was inevitable from here on out. And that there probably wouldn’t be much to gain in the little future I had left.”
The girl didn’t know what to say. Except that she somehow related a bit to what he was talking about.
“The following day,” the man continued. “I decided to go to the park. It was a beautiful day. Even in my misery, I figured I’d take a brief walk. Why not. And I stopped to rest on a bench, when a few moments later, a man sat down on the bench next to mine with a couple small dogs.
“I still had some treats in my pocket, so I asked the man if I could give a few to his dogs. The man nodded, too busy on his phone to care, and the dogs took a liking to me. I mean, a real liking to me. They both had their noses resting on my knees just staring up at me. I had to laugh. ‘You have two wonderful dogs,’ I said to the man.
‘They were my mother’s. She just passed.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ I told him.
‘We have a 10yo daughter with a dog allergy, so I’m trying to find them a home where they can stay together,’ he said.
And without hesitation, I said, ‘I would be glad to adopt them both.’
“You should have seen that man. He stood up and stared up at the blue sky, clasping his hands together. He couldn’t get over the timing. He really thought it was a miracle.”
“Wow,” said the girl. “Well, it kind of was, if you think about it. And are these those dogs?”
“They are indeed,” the man said, petting their heads. “That was six months ago. And I learned something very important. After my dog passed, I was sure nothing good would ever cross my path again. But good things are always blowing in. They just might look different from what you think you should be looking for. So that’s why you’ve always got to stay alert. You have to take a break from your sadness sometimes to look around to notice what might have entered your space. That way, you can connect with it and see where it leads.
“You’ve got to be a different kind of treasure hunter. Not just to keep finding what’s missing and what’s wrong, but to discover what’s new and what’s full of possibility.”
“Thank you for sharing that with me,” the girl said, wiping off a tear.
“You’re more than welcome. I had a feeling it was something you needed to hear.”
The girl nodded. He was right. Something about what he’d said made a lot of sense.
And so she decided to take a break from her sadness to pay attention to what else was happening. And right then, a red leaf fell beside her on the bench. She looked at it and smiled.
“Red leaves. Aren’t they beautiful?” the man asked calmly.
“Yeah,” the girl smiled.
“The process of things changing, turning from one thing to another. All the cycles, phases and stages life goes through. Not just ours. But all of life... It really is an unfathomable mystery.”
“That’s very true,” the girl said.
The girl then carefully placed the red leaf between the pages of her journal. This time, not because she believed the leaf was going to keep her happy. But as a reminder of what the man had shared—that all of life is constantly entering a different cycle, phase and stage. And yes, there is sadness. Lots of sadness. But also beauty. And so many other things, too.
We can play favorites and have loyalties to just one experience. But, if we can pay attention and begin to let in more of what’s also happening right now, we open the space of our awareness to embrace more of life. And all of life has something to offer.
All these ingredients together are exactly the things we need as we travel to our next chapters.
-JLK
