The quiet called to him.
He was up early, just before the sun and definitely before his co-workers. Dressing quickly, he grabbed his room key and headed out for a walk.
On a corporate retreat at a local resort, my husband was desperate for some quiet. He and his team worked in media relations, so they were always on call, which meant phones ringing and pagers buzzing at all hours.
To get away from the office and the pressure and to go to a beautiful place in the country was a gift, even though they would be working on planning the next year.
But for now, he was free.
In the early-morning hush, he strolled through the manicured grounds of the golf course. The light was beginning to edge out the darkness, but it was gray and misty. The grass was wet.
Lost in his thoughts, he topped a small knoll, and his eyes caught a sight that stilled him: through the mist ahead, a dozen deer stood motionless on the green.
“I stopped, they stopped,” Mart says. “I’d never seen that many together. It took my breath away.”
He didn’t move. He and the deer stared at each other for a few minutes until the deer got spooked and bounded away.
He was sorry to see them go but elated that he’d seen them at all. The unexpected sight helped him relax and lifted his spirits for the day ahead.
Fast forward to one year later. Mart found himself back at the resort for another corporate retreat, craving quiet and solitude.
Up early that first morning, he set out for the golf course. Would the deer be there? Probably not. Still, he walked slowly, careful to be as quiet and alert as possible.
A few minutes later, when he rounded a bend, there they were, through the mist. A beautiful and, for a second time, surprising sight to begin his retreat.
That spring morning, he went looking—hoping—for beauty, and he found it.
Do you look for beauty? Where? I’d love to hear about it.
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Deer photo courtesy of GraphicStock
