Passing time, after a long
day, he walked endlessly into the darkened park. He strolled aimlessly,
letting his thoughts direct him. After some time he came upon a bench near
a small pond and sat to rest. His feet were not tired from the walk but
he was exhausted by his thoughts. Here in the silence of the night he could
take rest and try to let his thoughts subside.
As thoughts ran through his mind
he gazed into the water not realizing the activity in front of him. The
moon reflected so gently in the pond. Dewdrops from the trees dropped into
the water creating small circles of ripples. He looked up from his thoughts
and looked out into the pond. As he watched
the ripples from the dewdrops stretched out into endless
circles he was suddenly taken by the sight of a bird, hidden in the shadows
of the night. She was swimming from the darkened banks of the pond and
swim within the circles and changing the ripples direction. He stared as
these small
ripples carried leaves, falling from the trees, in
unknown directions. How ironic, he thought that his life mirrored this
shimmering pond, for he also had ripples in the different circles of his
own life. But he did not know where the ripples would go or take him, as
the ripples of the pond did the leaves.
He slowly rose and approached this small stranger.
However, the closer he got, the further away she would swim ... but she
never left the circles. Why was this gentle creature so unsure of him?
He had not tried to scare her away. Maybe, he thought, his presence was
too large and made the bird feel threatened. He lowered himself down to
the ground and moved to the edge of the pool of water. The bird remained
at a distance but turned once in awhile, pause and then swim a little towards
him. Yet, at his slightest move she quickly retreated towards the bank.
These little retreats so confused him. He made no moves to harm to this
bird. So, why was she so threatened by him?
Not knowing her fears he
sat still and just watched as the bird floated gently about. As he watched,
he could hear faint noises in the near distance. He watched her swim with
fever towards them. As a cloud uncovered the moon he could see more clearly.
This bird was a beautiful swan with
long graceful pure white feathers that covered her
like a blanket of white clouds. Truly such a graceful and beautiful swan
he had never seen. As he watched her in awe, she drifted closer to the
little noises near the bank at the edge of the circles of ripples. She
came to a stop and he could see, within the edge of the circle of water
drops were her small young. Now he realized why she didn't stray too far
away. With this new understanding, he watched as she tended to her family.
She was not as much afraid of him as she was only retreating to protect
her family.
As he rose and slowly backed away from the pond
she turned and opened her wings to they're fullest and called out. This
not only showed she was willing to do anything to protect her young ones
also revealed her full beauty to him. As she closed her wings, she paused
for a moment, and then slowly came towards him. Astounded by this he stood
motionless. The swan came to the edge
of the pond and hesitantly came out of the water.
As she stood at the edge of the pond bank, he paused ... then slowly bent
down to her. Again, she ruffled her feathers startling the man. He froze
in his position, not wanting for her to flee. She very slowly approached
the man and looked him over. She slowly walked around him, allowing him
to see more of her grace and beauty and as she passed him her feathers
gently brushed against his arm. She continued passed him and then returned
to the pond. He had never felt anything so soft nor seen anything so beautiful.
He admired her as she slipped back into the water, then turned towards
him and gave out a soft call and returned to the
circle of ripples and her young.
He had been blessed with
an extraordinary experience in his life. Here he watched in wonder as her
whole world was exposed to him and yet she was bold enough to leave her
world of water and take but a moment to experience his world. Both he and
the swan seemed to be more at ease with each other now. He went back to
his seat on the bench and sat in amazement. This little twist of fate had
exhilarated him so much that he no longer felt exhausted by his own thoughts.
He now felt blessed that this chance experience had shown him a new look
on life. He realized now that all of our lives have circles and ripples.
Some we make ourselves in the search for new experiences and some,
like the swan, are made to establish their boundaries
and protect their own. And as long as we take our time and approach each
other with care and respect the other's boundaries ... we are not a threat,
but an acceptable admirer.