Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Feeding the Ducks

Each day I drive to work through a pretty busy part of town - the area around the interstate.

About a block from where I work there is an intersection with a truck stop, hotel, gas stations, and Wal-Mart.  In the area  next to the stoplight, there is a small, weedy looking little pond and in the warmer months dozens and dozens of ducks make this their home.  We, along with many, many others - like to stop by from time to time and feed the ducks and ducklings from the parking lot beside it.  When these ducks see a car stop, they swarm and wait for their handout of stale bread and crackers.

Now let's do a Google Earth view of the area that we live in.  Zooming away from this weedy little pond you will see that we are surround by the most beautiful and picturesque lakes and streams.  Miles and miles of pristine forest.  I can't even count the number of lakes and ponds and beautiful nature spaces around this town - some within a 10 minute drive of this little pond next to a busy intersection.  Even closer "as a duck flies".    

We live in a beautiful place.  

And even the ducks are missing out on it because they are coming back, year after year, generation after generation, to a tiny, weedy retention pond surrounded by concrete.  

Isn't life like that?  

I know from personal experience that it is easier to go for convenience and comfort.

It is easier to do the drive-thru some nights or pop in the frozen dinner than to involve my over-tired children in preparing a meal.

It is much less complicated to turn on the cartoons for the kids so that I can get a little housework done than it would be to set them up with an art project or even take the extra time to do my chore by including them and showing them how it is done.

I know many others that come back to the same places because they are receiving something without having to expel any effort.  They are being given something that they haven't even attempted to work for. Like the ducks swarming for stale bread and crackers - yes, their bellies are full but oh how they are missing out.

I know it may seem simple and a bit child-like - but I want more out of life than easy and convenient.

I want to give my children a better experience than the fast food life that is so accessible.  I can't wait until our garden begins producing the veggies that we will eat for dinner.  I look forward to helping them pick the peas and beans and tomatoes in our back yard and enjoying them together.  We have been going fishing lately and I can't wait until we finally catch a "keeper" so that we can enjoy our first real fish fry.

I can't wait to climb that big mountain later this month with my husband.

My two cents for you (and me) today: don't settle for easy and convenient and free.

You may be missing out on unspeakable beauty and settling for stale bread and exhaust fumes.  

The ducks probably won't learn this lesson... and sadly - neither will their cute little ducklings.




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