A Word from the Wise.

 

A Feather on a Beach.

The above painting was one of my earlier watercolours. I often find myself captivated by little things in nature. Things that have been discarded and become a part of something else. In this case a feather from a seagull Lying beside at the shell of a dead mollusc. Withe pattern of wet sand nature has transformed this into a little scene of beauty. 

In the most unexpected places and in the unexpected words of others lies beauty and joy. 

I heard a story yesterday that started off as a sad tale but it too was so unexpected I am still smiling today. Partly because of the story but also because there was joy on the face of the person telling me the tale. 

But before I share it let me share a little sadness with you first.

I was told of a mother superior who was dying. The nuns who lived under her guidance were  distraught as they gathered round her death bed.

The were trying to make her last journey comfortable. They tried giving her warm milk to drink but she refused  it.

One of the nuns took the glass back to the kitchen. Then, remembering a bottle of  Whisky that had been received as a gift the previous Christmas, she opened it and poured a generous amount into the warm milk.

Back at Mother Superior's bed, they held the glass to her lips. The frail nun drank a little, then a little more and before they knew it, she had finished the whole glass down to the last drop. As her eyes brightened, the nuns thought it would be a good opportunity to have one last talk with their spiritual leader.

"Mother," the nuns asked earnestly, "Please give us some of your wisdom before you leave us." 

Her teaching had inspired them so often.

She raised herself up in bed on one elbow, looked at them and said:

"Don't sell that cow."

Go on smile and today see beauty in unexpected places and from unexpected people. You will be surprised.