Wandering

There’s so much to see in the Arboretum, I sometimes forget to look around as I walk the side streets that lead me there. And yet, given where I live, I spend almost as much of my walk outside the Arb as within Lately I’ve been aiming to give more and better attention to those moments. Being attentive to what’s around me is one way to make the most of the time I have to be alive.

In one of the yards I pass, there is a vine-encrusted chain-link fence. This is not hospitable soil and there is little space and less flexibility for growth. Am I looking at a struggle or a celebration?  Perhaps it’s a bit of both: that it’s alive and growing is worth celebrating and yet this doesn’t look easy, so maybe there’s an element of struggle. There have been times in our lives that resemble this mix – the going isn’t easy, yet growth is possible. I’m pushing for metaphor here, I know that. And perhaps it’s just something fun to look at. Either way works for me!