The sky was a hazy baby-blue as I sat at the edge of my Northeastern Ohio pond. Spring had just sprung and I was as content as a Mississippi bullfrog on a lily pad. The harsh ice-filled Ohio winter had been a tough one and had damaged and killed countless trees. Some birds can freeze to death in one day without enough food and I suspect many died this last winter. Opossums, fox and all the other woodland residents struggle to survive during harsh winters and many also end up dying.
The winter struggle occurs every year and in other warmer climates, different daily life and death battles occur. It’s the same with us humans though, isn’t it? We struggle with disease, illness, and human predators and just like animals, we struggle with the weather.
The cold hard truth is that sometimes we win these battles, just as animals do, but most of the time we lose them. We succumb to weather, illness or predators at some time or another. But we keep on pushing to enjoy, experience, love and survive. But you and I can’t realistically ask for freedom from life’s perils. That’s life. It is what is it is and always has been. But we can strive to handle them wisely and enjoy the hell out of life during the down time from perils, or sometimes, even during them.
That Mississippi Bullfrog I mentioned has its own perils like the weather, snakes and big fish but when he can, he still finds time to lounge on that lily pad like a boss. And just like that frog, I plan on kicking back and ‘enjoying’ whenever I can. If a frog can do it like a boss, I figure I can too. I hope you join me in doing the same.
Steve’s latest book: https://tinyurl.com/zcbkkyy
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