Most serious birders have a bucket list of the birds they longs to see. For years mine has had a painted bunting on it.  I've been close a couple of times, but not until this recent trip to the South Carolina shore was I able to finally see it.  The fragile beauty of its colors, the almost casual achievement of my sighting something so long desired brought tears with it.  Afterwards I realized it wasn't just about the bird, it was what it had meant to me all this time.  It was more than the sum of its parts.

In a world that spins faster every day, it is essential  for us to cultivate and be open to experiences that are more than the sum of their parts.  Events which are  meaningful only to us deepen our humanity.  CLICK FOR MORE.... Some are almost ordinary, some are stunning but all keep us in touch with the soulful part of life the daily grind constantly assaults. As I grow older I have come to believe being able to accept the inherent mystery in those moments, to feel awe, wonder, reverence as well as compassion and tenderness expands our capacity to love ourselves and each other in the midst of hard  times. Life doesn't add up so we can learn that love is the real sum of living.



Got a bucket list?