Catching Tadpoles


"Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems."
Rainer Maria Rilke quotes (1875-1926)


As I gaze out onto my office parking lot in Concord, Massachusetts, I see an amazing sight...a young boy and girl crouching low to the ground on the edge of the sidewalk that leads into my office building.

On closer observation, I see a net attached to a long pole in the young boy's outstretched hands. They are fishing for tadpoles in the flooded parking lot! With the historic level of flooding the Northeast has withstood over the past weeks, the ensuing hassles with closed roads, canceled train service between Boston and New York, rivers overflowing, dams breaking, pumping out of basements, loss of property and water damage to valuables; this sight in the parking lot...two small figures patiently fishing, eagerly anticipating their catch, made me stop and smile.

Time after time, I am reminded of the choices we make in viewing the world. Do we see a flooded parking lot with no where to park, or do we see an opportunity to fish for tadpoles in the sunshine? One situation, two very different experiences.

May you catch many tadpoles this month,
Pam