Generosity

You don't have to be rich to be generous.

There is a certain generosity of the earth to allow you to behold its wonders. Each of us has myriad opportunities, both small and large, to share goodness and be gracious with others. Yesterday we were invited to observe and bask in the generosity of  those we call" poor"but show a richness of heart sometimes lacking in the people of more "developed" countries.

Jose, the gardener at our hotel, wakes every morning early to begin diligently sweeping the courtyard walkways.  When we inquired as to which bus to take to get to Volcan Mombacho to view the Mariposario, the butterfly reserve, he graciously said that he had an errand to run which would allow him to lead us there.  How fortunate we were because the bus station was hidden away on a side street with no indicating sign.   It would have been very difficult to locate without Jose's help.

The bus was leaving as we arrived at the station.  We hustled on, and there were only two seats left, not together.  But one of the men sitting alone graciously got up to allow us to sit together. A slight smile, moment's eye contact, faint nod of the head and whisper of gracias, all happening simultaneously, communicated to him our appreciation.

Upon arrival at the entrance to the park at Mombacho, we were told that the Mariposario was closed for the day, so we began to hike up the paved road toward the top of Mombacho.  Along the way, we were granted the beauty of hundreds of butterflies of all colors, as well as hummingbirds and a large, colorful bird with a long tail.

Veering off of the road toward an unmarked jungle path we began to hike toward an unknown destination. It was surprising, to be six miles from Granada and surrounded by dense old growth jungle. Our wonder and joy catapulted to another level when we spotted a family of howler monkeys traipsing through the trees. They stopped to watch us watching them.

Our gaze had been turned upward toward the monkeys by the most amazing sight of the day:  a mini-whirlibird, a dervish with gossamer wings so fine as to be invisible, a dragonfly unlike any we'd ever seen.  It appeared to have a slim body at the center of 4 discorporated dots rotating in unison.  We never saw the wings as it hovered, hovered, hovered, then finally disappeared somewhere within the magic cloak of its wings.

Joyous gratitude was our return gift each time nature granted us these glimpses of generosity...each magical glimpse a circle asking to be completed.