One recent Spirit of Aventure story was a guest post by Lori, a Quest For Balance reader who has quickly become my dear friend as well. That post was about a grand adventure she had a few moons ago, serving in the military. It showed a side of her that was tough, daring, and rebellious. But, as you will see, there is another side to my lovely new friend.

Today’s post is from an email she sent me describing a different kind of adventure. You may recall she is now dealing with a chronic illness, but even that can’t dampen her zest for life. Here is Lori’s story of a softer, milder, simpler kind of adventure that renewed her spirit and nurtured her soul not long ago.

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When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I’m feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don’t feel so bad.

Who can forget these wonderful words sung by Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music? I have to say, I never will. Not that I have any interest in raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens. And I seriously could not care less about bright copper kettles, warm woolen mittens, or brown paper packages tied up with strings. But I am interested in finding relief from sadness, so I have my OWN list of favorite things that helps me remember not to feel so bad.

*

Butterflies that pose for a picture I’m taking;
their curled up tongues when they’re all finished eating;

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Last spring, my garden was a dazzling array of colors. You may recall from my “Young, Confused Iris” post that one purple iris in particular stole the show. She was amazingly beautiful. But she had some tough competition, too: pink dogwoods, orange daylilies, burgundy irises, red roses, yellow daffodils, multi-colored lantana, pink and purple azaleas, and bright pink crape myrtles surrounded my house. It was a color explosion that brightened my days and always cheered me up.

This year is different.  Everything is white.

The pink dogwood didn’t bloom at all. The pink and purple azaleas bloomed early, and were defenseless against a late season frost; they lasted a day or two and died away. The others either haven’t bloomed yet, or won’t bloom at all… it’s too early to tell. What I DO know is, if I look out at my garden in any direction, all I see is white flowers.

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