Big and Little Things

I find myself appreciating the little things much more lately. Planting flowers in beds and window boxes seem much more important to me than it once did, and it was pretty meaningful before. It's almost as if I feel the need to help life along, to promote life in whatever way I can. Life, in all its forms, is wondrous. Life is precious and we should thank the gods every day that we are lucky enough to have it. And this planet is, apparently, the only one with life of any kind in our solar system. And what life! Microscopic critters, small invertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, insects, trees, flowers, herbs and humans! And too many more to name, all specialized over the millennia to survive and flourish in their own unique way.

In the great scheme of things, over the vast span of time, 3 human lives that were stopped short by violence are not that big of an issue to the universe. I bet the universe didn't even notice. But I did, as did my family and the immediate family of the deceased and all those around them. In our microcosm these deaths were earth-shattering and the pain of their loss cannot be expressed. My near-constant prayers go out to their survivors and to their spirits. For me and my family, life goes on and we can function normally. For others this is not so and I pray that, in time, the pain will lessen and leave only love and happy memories. And as I marvel at the volunteer petunias that have magically sprung up in our fence flower boxes I'm reminded that while life can suddenly and unexpectently end it can also burst forth in surprising times and places.