Last week I found a tiny diamond earring on the floor of a locker room.
When I asked the woman next to me if it might belong to her she said
“No, but how on earth did you ever spot that?”
I laughed, then smiled and confided in her.
“I walk beaches a lot and find myself looking downward.
I seem to be drawn to any tiny shimmer or twinkle of sea glass.
Honestly, it’s becoming a habit! I treasure that one color that I call ‘Contemplation’
But I don’t want to miss that pod of dolphins swimming by one day”.
I laughed again.
“I am practicing by looking up and away”.
I brought the earring to the front desk Lost & Found.
I suppose it’s an occupational hazard for a naturalist collecting observations to have an attraction turn into distraction.
I remember those long days squinting through binoculars atop Polovina Cliffs in the Pribilof Islands. Finding the detailed color of a Northern fur seal’s whiskers could categorize her age. There I learned very quickly to routinely look up…because seals spying on me didn’t want to miss a single thing either!
So I keep practicing.
The stars are twinkling beautifully tonight.