Full of Wonder and Surprises

Recently I was sitting in the darkness of my “Enchanted Forest,” beside my friend Whitney watching the blue ghost fireflies make silent light trails, the tiny males traveling a few feet off the ground with their lights turned on, looking for females. This phenomenon is one of the most mystical and magical in all of Nature and if you’ve never had the chance to witness it, I highly recommend making time. Found only in North America, and only along the Appalachian Mountain chain, this firefly’s light show is the definition of magic. 

Whitney commented how amazing it was that this was happening so close to where people lived, yet most people are completely unaware of it. So many people are under the impression you have to travel to exotic places to see magic or wonders like this. Then we talked about some other incredible things our beautiful Planet Earth has to offer– fireflies that flash in synchrony, microscopic organisms that live in the ocean and light up when disturbed, dancing aurora borealis, mushrooms with gills that glow an eerie green in pitch darkness. The list of amazing phenomena this Planet has to offer is infinite. Yet how many of us pay attention to, or notice these wonders? Even a sky full of stars, a chrysalis becoming a butterfly, a flower opening, mushrooms popping out of the earth, trees leafing out in a matter of days, the sun dropping below the horizon, lightning, or a fox snuggled in her den with a handful of growing pups would make the list of incredible events. Sadly, most people are unaware. As a society we’ve become so separated from Mother Nature, oblivious to the fact that even if we don’t pay attention, we are still all connected and what we do to Mother Nature, we do to ourselves. 

I discovered a song recently when I was creating a reel on Instagram of a hummingbird joyously taking a bath in my homemade water fountain outside of my sunroom windows. Since then, this song has been on repeat in my head–and in my car, house, headphones… It’s called How Beautiful This Life is, by an artist named Berre.

I love music for its ability to transport us to both another time and place, to make us feel emotions that aren’t always easy to label with words. This song makes me cry, makes me ache with longing for my husband and all the wonderful things he brought to my life, but also, at the same time, it gives me hope, reminds me that life is “full of wonder and surprises,” and I try to feel grateful that I’m alive to experience it. Since my husband’s death, I’ve been dropped into the wilderness of grief, sort of like being dropped into a real forest wilderness somewhere on the Planet where nothing looks familiar and I must not only figure out the way out, but must also survive each day and all the challenges hurtling towards me every moment. It’s exhausting. 

The lyrics: “I don’t know, how to find the sunshine in the shadow, for so long, I was walking around with my eyes closed, can someone tell me why that is? ’cause lately I’ve been trying to change, 

I see how beautiful this life is, full of wonder and surprises, and if I’m lost, you’re there to find me, when I forget it, you remind me, How beautiful this life is. 

And if I’m lost, you’re there to find me, when I forget it, you remind me, How beautiful this life is.

Show me now, how to pick myself back up from off the ground, tell me now, how to lift my spirits up above the clouds, can someone tell me how I feel? Cause lately I’ve been trying to change, I see how beautiful this life is, full of wonder and surprises, and if I’m lost you’re there to find me, when I forget it, you remind me, How beautiful this life is…”

My husband, Joe was always there beside me–was, the sweetest, kindest man one could ever know. I  hope everyone has a JOE in their lives at some point, even if only briefly, someone who showers you with love and who thinks you hang the moon and the stars and feels lucky everyday that fate brought you together. May we all be fortunate enough to have someone who reminds us of the beauty and wonders this life has to offer, someone who can sit in the darkness with us, literally and figuratively. What a gift it is to have a person to share this life with! 

Our Planet is full of wonder and surprises. They are out there all the time waiting to be discovered. But we’ll never see or experience it if we’re locked inside our houses, afraid of getting out of our comfort zones, or glued to our phones, or watching TV.

Let this serve as your reminder to STEP OUTSIDE, especially after dark, without a light. Look up. Listen. Smell. Feel the air, the breeze, the way the darkness cuddles you like a blanket. Look at the stars! Get up early for a sunrise. Take a walk in a new place. What mysteries will you discover? Can you find some magic? It’s out there every single day, if only we have the eyes to see it… go look! 

And, if you ARE lucky enough to have a Joe to share your life with– tell them.

Tell them every single day and MAKE TIME for joyful things to experience together. Because life is short, and fate can intervene at any moment. We all think we have infinite time–“we’ll do it tomorrow, next month, next year, when we’re 50, retired, 75…” My advice is DO IT NOW! 

Joe and I loved “our” blue ghost fireflies. We loved sitting side by side in the forest chair he built, holding hands, and watching in awe and silence as the magic unfolded before us. Now I watch the fireflies with strangers, hoping to give them an experience they’ll remember forever, a chance to witness the wonder and surprises this life has to offer. To be their someone who reminds them how beautiful this life is. 

Here are some photos of mine from the blue ghosts in our little Enchanted Forest, taken this year, as I sat alone in the dark forest, watching the magic, feeling awe, and missing my Joe.

Tell me, what magic and surprises have you experienced lately?