Blessings

Peacock Feather Canvas on Amazon

Those who know me intimately will do a double-take at the title. Blessings. A word that is too close to traditional religious-speak for me.  I am not traditionally religious. But I am spiritual. I always have been. Lately,  I have been working hard at trying to live a more contented and "in the moment" life.  Too many years have gone by with me embracing the bah-humbug philosophy. There have been times that I put Scrooge to shame.

I am reading a book about being present and having faith in the moment. Being open to the little signs from God. Again, too "traditionally religious" for me. But I do believe in synchronicity, that all humans are somehow connected to each other in some way, and signs.  I truly believe there are signs in our lives. We just need to watch for them.I have been trying to be more aware. It is not easy for me to have faith. But today I felt it come a little more easily.

Sugar was our little foster dog. We began our goodbyes a couple of days ago and today I drove her home. I will miss her but it was a happy thing to do. She was lovingly greeted by her family members - both two and four-legged.  It was good to reunite her. It was good to have contact with decent people.

As I began the trek home, in flooding rain, I felt content. 

With the wind rocking the Jeep as I drove, visibility nearly zero at times, and the downpours causing the roadways to turn into rushing creeks, I found myself enjoying the drive. There is something awesome about the massive amounts of spray that comes from the wheels. The flapping and tapping of the raindrops on the soft-top. Jeep lovers know exactly what I mean.

The drive was a great adventure as it was. Then I noticed something moving in the edge of a field.  I watched, and slowed to a crawl.  The shadows moved slowly and confidently into the middle of the road. And stopped. They looked at me. And waited.

I watched as the windshield wipers cleared the blur.

At first I thought they were turkeys. Then I realized they were peacocks. I love peacocks! I know little about them but I have a few good childhood memories of peacocks. I am always so excited when I see peacocks.

And there they were. Calmly watching me.

They stepped into the road, in front of me. In the middle of this storm.  I swear, they turned and looked at me, as if to say "well?" More than once they looked over their shoulders at me.  They moseyed ahead of me and I enjoyed their presence. They continued to walk ahead of me, very slowly moving down the center of the road before finally moving to the edge of the road.  I watched for a few more moments, before slowly beginning to accelerate around them. I had followed them slowly enough and long enough that I was concerned the farmer would think I was doing something questionable. So I sped up a bit. As I passed and began to draw ahead, they began to run. And I swear, they were trying to keep up and still watching me.

Maybe their owner drives an orange Jeep too. Maybe they were looking for their dinner. I don't know. But I know that traveling with peacocks during a pause in a powerful storm was a gift. A blessing. Truly a blessed day.

There are blessings all around us. We just need to watch for them.