Now honestly, I don't spend hours just gazing out the windows, but I do get an occasional treat of new visitors of the animal kind. This week, it definitely was something new to almost the entire staff, and it turned out to be a muskrat! I will admit my first reaction was thank goodness it wasn't a huge rat, but the next was fascination - a chance to watch something totally new to me as it goes about living. And it has been spending a great deal of time of the very limited open grass digging up and eating roots. We have learned it has what seems to be a tunnel under the snow for quick access to safety. We've learned that it uses a defense mechanism common to a number of animals - it freezes. It is becoming a familiar 'friend' similar to our chipmunk.
So what is my point here? It is the importance to being open to seeing what is around you. To be open to the unexpected opportunities in life. To just be aware. It creates that wondering awe that we all had as a child, and enriches your life immeasurably.
I am lucky to have access to an old family cottage on a busy working harbor. By sitting on the porch at random times during the day, I have seen a deer swimming down the harbor, a bald eagle flying past just six feet away, loons and eider ducks in their winter and summer coloring. I have heard seals surfacing right out front in the dark at high tide, I've watched herring fished, lobster traps tended, moorings laid and moved. And I make a point of looking for the unexpected anywhere. I used to live a stone's throw from a coke mill - where coal was baked into coke:
Yes, I lived right there in one of those houses for many years. My parents were horrified on their occasional visits, seeing only the ugliness. Yes there was ugliness everywhere, but I was daily caught up in the stark reality of heavy industry, the unexpected beauty of the smoke pouring from the smokestacks, the weird equipment used, the process required for producing this valuable fuel for steel making.
It is just part of a life-long determination to try and notice what is around me, to sample fresh experiences. And libraries are a great way to remain open to new ideas and experiences. You can try new authors, try out music or films that aren't your usual taste - all with no risk or cost to you. The programs we offer can open the door to new interests, new hobbies, new ideas - again without risk or cost, other than being present and open to the opportunity. You never know what you might stumble across.
