My wife and I were walking on a path along the ocean, but we were being buffeted by the wind. So we decided to turn into the very lovely neighborhood next to the ocean in order to avoid that wind.

This neighborhood has some truly beautiful houses in it, and most of the houses care deeply about the appearance of their yard. There are also some wooded paths throughout, allowing us to walk through to streets further removed from traffic noise in a very lovely way. We were quite happy with our choice to walk away from the ocean and the wind, even before the magic happened.

We came across some wild roses growing in a hedge. My wife went up to them and inhaled their aroma, and went back several times to do so. She then became aware that the busyness of her mind had ceased, and she moved fully into the present moment. Talk about essential oil therapy!

One more block further on we recognized this block as the one in which we had heard a symphony of bird calls on a previous walk. Sure enough, today’s birds didn’t disappoint, and we were greeted with such melodious songs that we were completely mesmerized. I don’t know what those folks on that street are doing to attract such a large number of songbirds, but whatever they are doing, they’re doing it well!

We then chose to prolong our walk, taking a road that ended in a cul-de-sac. The houses were still beautifully cared for, and the birds were still singing all along this road as well. At the end of the cul-de-sac there was one of those walking paths through the woods up to the next block of the neighborhood. Naturally, we took it.

About halfway up the path we came to a magnificent Garry Oak tree, with a very gnarled trunk, and we could make out a face that reminded us of the Ents in Lord of the Rings.

We continued up the path until we saw a house and garden that stopped us in our tracks. It was the last house before the path ended, and the grounds were huge and so beautifully cared for. There was a fence between it and the path, and we saw two women working in the garden on their hands and knees. We decided to continue up the path to see the front of the house, and it was grandly beautiful.

We then walked down the path, but this time, we spoke to the women, telling one of them how beautiful we thought the garden and house were. I made a joke with her, saying she should charge admission to see her garden and she could make a fortune. She said, “Would you like to come in and have a look around?” She then proceeded to open the gate for us, gave us a few directives, and allowed us to tour her place while she went back to work.

What incredible flowers of all colors and sizes, all perfectly placed to not only complement each other, but also allowed her place to look wildly beautiful, but not overly manicured. There were some rhododendrons as tall as trees, and one of a golden orange color neither of us had ever seen before. There were two other Ent-like Garry Oaks, as well as a running stream. Such beauty!

When we returned to the two women, the owner told us that she had been living there for 30 years, and that she called it a sharing garden, because all the flowers were started from cuttings from her friends’ gardens. The other woman, a friend of hers, told us that the owner had done all the work herself, which seems almost unbelievable. After expressing our appreciation to her, she opened the gate again and we proceeded down the path.

Tears formed in my eyes, as I was so touched by the generosity and true friendliness of this woman, and the gift we had just shared. But even more than that, we were so touched by the generosity of the Universe, once again, treating us to such a magical walk at a time when we were badly in need of rejuvenation.

You may have noticed the intensity happening in the world these days; you can hardly miss it. Also, we were working on some government forms in the morning, and our heads were very busy with all that. After this walk, our minds were peaceful and relatively quiet, and our appreciation for the kindness of both the Universe and also many of the people in it was restored. It is so easy to be down about what is happening in the world, and to make people wrong for the paths they have chosen.

A walk like today’s was a good reminder that there are some beautiful, generous and wonderful people in the world, no matter any outside circumstances, and that there are indeed reasons to be hopeful. The truth of who we truly are goes way beyond those outer circumstances, and it is so helpful from time to time to be reminded of that, despite how events in this dimension are playing out.