Zoomer Chronicles: Beauty.

     67 degrees Fahrenheit is an invitation to this Minnesotan to reclaim the out of doors.  This year 67 degrees feels different than in springtimes past.  The spring green buds burst forth in the trees before my eyes.  Yet, this year, I am being transported out of doors via Zoomer's powers.
     This year, I am not restoring my emotions from past challenges.  This year, I am not denying pain that seemed beyond me to cope, much less get diagnosed, and treated.  Tempting though it might seem to say, I do not regret my past responses.  I needed restoration.  I needed diagnosis.  I needed treatment.
     Now, no temptation lures me.  Diagnosis and treatment secured, now a new chapter begins.
     Curb cuts. Sidewalks.  Curb cuts. Traffic.  Sidewalks.  Uneven planks.  Sidewalks.  Asphalt patches.
     By map, the terrain is well-known.  Yet, I know better than to presume that I may traverse it with a speed of years gone by.  Someday, down to the beauty of downtown St. Paul's riverbank--Kellogg Boulevard.   But, that was not today's expectation of success.
     Ralph Waldo Emerson sets worthy aspirations for success.

     SUCCESS by Ralph Waldo Emerson

     To laugh often and much;
     To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
     To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
     To appreciate beauty,
     To find the best in others,
     To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
     To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
     This is to have succeeded.

     By Emerson's prescription for success, today I took one dose--I appreciated beauty....a different beauty.  Though the budding spring green trees were beauty-filled, beauty looked different--beauty felt different today.  Curb cuts. Streets.  Sidewalks.  Bumpy planks.  Uneven pavement.  Frightening, short inclines.  Some oncoming traffic.  Patchy asphalt.  Sidewalks.  Curb cuts.  

     Beauty felt different.  A healthy heart pounding.  Physical exhilaration.  No physical pain.  Stamina.

     Thank you, Zoomer.  We will venture out again.  Yet, remember, Zoomer.  No rush hours.  No bustling traffic.  Let us traverse sympathetic sidewalks....conciliatory curb cuts...forgiving intersections.  Maybe Kellogg Boulevard--the banks of the Mississippi River.