Little Acorns

She sits patiently on the mat by the front door.With beautiful brown eyes and ears bent over, she still looks like the puppy who arrived two and a half years ago. We stare at each other as I sit on the bottom step and tie up my laces. She’s getting excited. A tiny yawn turns into full-on tail-wagging body-shake. I chuckle at how much I adore her.
My little friend and I make our way up across the common and into the darkened woods. It smells damp and rich in here. I watch her spring off into the distance to chase a squirrel up a tree. He escapes just in time. She loves this game.
Strolling under the emerald canopy, lost in my thoughts, I breathe deeply and enjoy this sense of calm. Something crunches under foot and suddenly brings my attention back. That’s when I spot a hundred tiny acorns resting on the ground. There is something so comforting about seeing them…autumn cosiness is just a hop, skip and a jump away. I reach down to pick one up. Still green and shiny, it rests in its tiny brown cup. Then a thought pops into my head. As I look up towards the towering oak, I can’t help but wonder about us and our potential. In amongst deadlines and demands, it’s easy to forget just how amazing we really are. We overcome so many obstacles in life, we rarely congratulate ourselves for our triumphs. Through pain we grow taller and through challenges, our roots strengthen.
And all it takes is one tiny seed – a seed of hope, a seed of belief, a seed of love.