Have you ever walked a pathway and come upon a small stone or a single pebble, one that looks seemingly out of place? Out of all the pebbles in that path this one pebble is right smack in the middle of your path. And wonder; is it really out of place? Or has it been put in the exact place it needs to be for you to happen upon it and take notice of it. While that pebble is alone in a sense, it truly isn't. For you have now noticed the beauty of that pebble. You just took in its contours, the way the sun casts its shadow upon it and given it even more depth. Pondered that pebble, looked at it in relation to the grand scheme of life. A child may come by and unwittingly kick that pebble. But was it unwittingly? To be moved to another place where another person may take notice of it's grace. Life is here for us to enjoy. I believe it's not enough to just observe, but to be a willing participant of it. For me there lies the beauty, the wonder. It is moments such as this that one finds another pearl in our oyster to add to the long stranded necklace we create. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not too long ago I posed this thought to an Egyptian friend of mine. He studies Reike healing, it's a common interest we have. We had a very interesting conversation over this and how it could be applied to our everyday lives. Shortly after this talk I was out on one of my many long walks. Actually to clear my head and get a cohesive thought about a poem I was working on. As I walked over a drawbridge out of the corner of my eye I spotted a pebble alone. Now there were pebbles all over the walk but this one was all by it's lonesome under the metal rail. I smiled as I walked by it and thought about my conversation with my Egyptian friend. Only having my camera phone with me I thought I would take a picture of it on my way back and send it off to him telling him of the coincidence. What are the chances? I walked about ten feet past it and suddenly I stopped, realizing what I had just done. Here I posed a question and I was about to ignore my own words. This pebble may not be there when I get back. A little history here, I have a definite fear of bridges. While growing up my friend's idea of fun was to stand on the break in the bridge and wait for trucks to come by and bounce them around. Me, well I would high tail it to the other side. I was a weenie, scaredy cat, you name it I was it! As you walk over the bridge underneath you there is a stone quarry, a railroad and the river. The break in the bridge is directly over the water. The bridge starts out as a stonewall becoming a metal rail over the water. I am not a happy camper at this spot. This spot on either side of the bridge is also famous for those wanting to depart from their earthly lives. Even though I walk over it with more confidence nowadays I still can feel my legs wanting to take off when I see trucks making their way towards me. This knowledge gives a greater appreciation for what I was about to do. I turned back and looked at this pebble, the sun was bright and casting a long shadow on it. I took a picture, checked it, and it didn't come out well at all. It didn't pick up the shadow. I tried again from a different angle. I still wasn't satisfied. Now I squatted, as I was doing this I imagined people in their cars passing by must have been wondering what this nut was doing. I wanted the longest angle of the sun casting its shadow on the pebble. I now had a mission. Still not satisfied, without thinking twice I decided to lie down on the pavement. Here I am lying on the pavement-taking picture after picture of a pebble. I noticed cars slowing down as they passed by me. It wasn't until two semi trucks passed and gave that familiar bounce that I realized just how close I was to the "break". When I hit my head on the rail I also realized that I was much closer to the edge than I thought. Then the weirdest thought had come over me. I had written a poem about a young woman with a camera that committed suicide the previous summer. And here I was camera in hand under the rail taking a picture. Like my poem, if I had fallen would anyone believe it was an accident? Then a thought about one of the comments left to me about a jelly donut. Right at that moment, another truck came barreling over the bridge and the bouncing started again. I put my head down on the ground and laughed and said out loud, "And me without a jelly donut!" As soon as the bouncing subsided I stood up dusted myself off and made my way toward my destination. A woman pushing a stroller with a young boy tow about 4 or 5 years old passed me. She gave me an odd look but I just shrugged it off. All of the sudden I heard her call out. The little boy had run over to the rail to look down at the water. I turned just in time to see his foot kick the stone over the edge. I watched it as it sailed down into the water. "Too bad I didn't have my camera on at the time, that shot would have gotten my point across,