“Outdoors” is a place we sometimes take for granted.  Instead, we shut ourselves inside, seeking warmth in the dark winter and air-conditioned relief in the sultry days of summer.   This May long weekend had many of us seeing outdoors through a more thankful lens, as Covid restrictions lifted slightly to let us safely enjoy more outdoor activities.  Walking, biking, splash-padding, golfing, shooting basketballs or playing tennis – we did it all a with a sense of renewed optimism that the vaccine roll-out and staying at home may have turned the tables on our long and bitter pandemic. 

Coach Carole inspired more thoughts on hope and optimism when she shared the attached painting by her 16 year-old granddaughter. The glowing pink roses remind us that neither the roses, nor we, have any idea exactly why they exist; it is enough to focus on their quiet beauty and to purposefully let go of negative feelings like anger and frustration. Carole relates that the artist added the shimmering fairy-like creature as a finishing touch to bring some “magic” to her painting.  Sometimes the “magic” we seek is hope and optimism, something we can find by a heightened awareness of the beauty to be found…outdoors.

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