Kindness Has Its Rewards
Down
below in the place of his looking, a two-legged person was strolling on a path
through the woods that bordered the land on which she lived. “I love the woods
almost as much as I love the sky,” Alleah thought as she paused for a moment to
savor the colorful foliage and pungent odors of life. In silent communion with
the many life forms around her, Alleah also gazed inwardly in wonder at the
richness of life afforded her as a human, as a woman whom others called Angie.
Silently asking for and receiving permission from a nearby rock, Alleah sat
down. There was no need to hurry on this gorgeous day. “Life has its own pace.
Take time to savor the moments,” was the thought that had come from her spirit
and given her pause in this moment.
Alleah
took some deep breaths, relishing the caress of the winds upon her face as she
observed its passage through the leaves and mosses that hung in the trees
above. “The winds tickle these leaves most every day and when it is their time,
the leaves fall to the ground so that ground creatures can have their time of
covering needed to complete their life cycle. Everything that I see and cannot
see has its purpose,” she mused to herself. Alleah is one of those beings who
is attuned to appre
ciate
the roles of all life forms and to give honor to each one’s purpose. “Some
humans think that earthworms are only for fishing,” she thought, “yet without
worms, the soil would not be able to fulfill its purpose, to provide sustenance
for plant life and trees, to grow our food. This is what I so like about Earth.
Every life form serves another even though, most times, many are not ever
noticed for their roles.”
As
Alleah continued her restful musings, she chuckled out loud startling a
cardinal who had been searching for insects in the branches of a nearby bush.
As the cardinal went on its way, Alleah caught the flutters of some other
winged creature near one of the luscious pink flowers in that same bush. “Are
you a hummingbird, with wings that flutter so fast that they cast light about?”
she silently asked the creature. It was at that moment that Alleah’s breath
caught, held in wonder as a beautiful forest fairy settled down onto the branch
closest to her rock. She recognized that this was no ordinary fairy but the
special Messenger Fairy, wondrous in exuberant light and glowing with the
urgency of her message.
Alleah
bowed her head in silent acknowledgement of this praise for a river of
confidence ran deeply in her soul, whether she was in the form of Angie, a
human, or Alleah, a winged being from the Great Sky. The Messenger Fairy
continued. “Sky God informed me that you were knowingly placed into an earth
family that would end up being broken apart. This was done to not only
strengthen your character as a human but also because your spirit’s seeds of
kindness could be sown and thereby help your earth family to better survive the
ordeal. Such events happen often on Earth, I was told,” said the fairy. “Sky
God knows that you do miss and sometimes yearn for the freedom of flying that
you had as one of the Sky-beings. He told me that it was time for you to be
honored for your role in sowing seeds of kindness on this Earth. Sky God is
sending you a gift which will arrive soon.”
“What
is this gift?” asked Alleah as a ripple of excitement in her body was echoed by
small gusts of wind rustling the leaves in the trees. The fairy answered, “Sky
God said to me that I, too, would know soon enough. I am a good messenger yet
secrets are never mine to keep.” With that, the Messenger Fairy dipped her
wings in a gesture of farewell and took flight into the trees. Alleah also took
flight, jumping up from the rock and beginning a run on the path. In an abrupt
about-face maneuver, however, she turned, nodded to the rock, said, “Thank
you,” and began to run towards home.
Alleah
had been deep into the woods so she knew that she was nearing its edge when
more light began to filter through the canopy of trees. As she ran out of the
woods and turned towards home, two dogs burst out from under a gate in the
fence that bordered her land. Laughing out loud, Alleah dropped to her knees
and thought, “Jess must have let out Bolder and Misty, knowing that I was on my
way home. Isn’t that just like him!” While Misty patiently and lovingly gave
her those sweet doggy kisses, Bolder just barked and jumped around and around.
His paws were all over the place and when he could be still for just a split
second, Bolder slipped in his own brand of wet doggy kisses. Alleah laughed and
hugged these wonderful Earth creatures. “Bolder cannot sit still for he is so
full of life and reminds me to just enjoy each moment. My sweet Misty brings to
me her kindness and love. How very lucky I am,” she thought as she loved them
back in return.
“Let’s
go home,” Alleah yelled, jumping up and running to the gate in the fence that
meant ‘home.’ Halfway across the field she heard a strange sound. “That sounds
like a neigh but there’s no horses nearby. It must be in my head,” she thought
to herself. Rounding the corner of their house, Alleah came to an abrupt halt.
There stood Jess, her Earth husband, holding the reins of a four-legged Earth
creature, a horse.
“They are so much like me as a Sky-being,” she thought. With wonder in her heart, Alleah walked slowly towards her smiling husband. “Her name is Kellanji though they call her Kella. She looks kind of skinny and tired because she was with some not-so-good people. A neighbor took her and brought her to you,” he said. “We had talked about adopting an abused horse yet were waiting for the right time. I had asked our neighbor to be on the look-out for a horse that needed a good home.” Kella snickered then and tossed her head up and down so Jess kissed Alleah gently on the cheek and handed over the reins.
“They are so much like me as a Sky-being,” she thought. With wonder in her heart, Alleah walked slowly towards her smiling husband. “Her name is Kellanji though they call her Kella. She looks kind of skinny and tired because she was with some not-so-good people. A neighbor took her and brought her to you,” he said. “We had talked about adopting an abused horse yet were waiting for the right time. I had asked our neighbor to be on the look-out for a horse that needed a good home.” Kella snickered then and tossed her head up and down so Jess kissed Alleah gently on the cheek and handed over the reins.
Thank you, Dody. Your story provided a perfect start to my week! Is it too soon to expect a wonderful collection of stories from you? :-)
ReplyDeleteOnly the muse in me knows :-) Great idea, though, to fertilize. Thanks, Ingrid!
DeleteThanks for a good read as always ... you have a great gift with words ..........
ReplyDeleteComing from you, Fel, this means so very much. Thank you!
DeleteDody,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great storyteller you are. You never told me you did short stories and srticles. I love your beautiful blog and wish mine was pretty like this one. My mother-in-law's dementia is getting worse at 96 and she lives alone. I refer to your book to see how I can be more help to her as I hate to see her lonely and fearful. But stubborn Italian that she is, she refuses to live with anyone or leave her home. I used to think I wanted to live to be 120--am rethinking that.
Love, you, Micki
Ah Micki..you always get me to laugh :) After mother-sitting, I decided I could leave before I hit the 80's!! Guess we're not in charge of that though! Thanks so much for your support on this blog but more so, as my friend.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful story for the start of a busy week. My thought while I was reading your post: I need to be more grateful for what I have!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Muriel. Taking a 'pause' from the busyness around me (and in my head!) helps me to tune into gratitude. When I read your blog posts, there is a tone of gratitude that catches my attention ;)
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