Tenderness for things unseen. Each day on the mountain path I see and sometimes feel new things, a cactus in bloom that didn't bloom yet yesterday, new leaves on the scrub oak, strong mid-day scent of sun on earth and old pine needles, or early morning scent of light night rain. And that's just on the side of the path. So sometimes I wonder what goes on in the deeper places of the forest where I never go, with thing I will likely never see, where lizards, rabbits, snakes, and birds conduct their lives without disturbance. And then I think with a bit of a sigh of many things I will likely never see, but would probably be enchanted with. The waterfalls of South America, the beaches of Lesbos where Sappho once dreamed, the costume shop of Cirque du Soleil, the center of a flashingly lit stage. And then I think of all the things I don't even know I am missing. What a small creature I am in this vast majestic universe. And yet, to quote Iris Murdoch, "People from another planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." So I will be mad with joy at what I do see, and tender with yearning for all things unseen that I might just fall in love with. What a fascinating journey this life is. Who would have thought the little girl hopping around on cobble stones in a different world would in early old age wander about in the wilderness?

Feel strong in your own tenderness today!