Hello, I am an avid Dublin Unitarian podcast listener. I live in Texas and also enjoy the Oscailt magazine. Ironically, I was actually reading the Oscailt when I was outside enjoying the birds and was sort of struck with that moment of visual and emotional clarity that spawned the writing below. Funny how it sort of came full circle, one thing inspiring the next. Stumbling Today I was sitting in my back yard enjoying a brief moment of tranquility. Overlooking a canal that is flanked by homes in my neighborhood I noticed a group of water fowl. Three of them traveling together. They had retreated to the banks of the water to rest and dry their wings for a while. When it was time for them to return to the water I watched as they stumbled along the grassy, sloped bank. One in particular was more lanky and awkward than the others though all three appeared to walk as though they had two left feet. Their necks were long and lanky, their flailing wings undoubtedly too large for their squatty little legs. It was comical to watch them make their way down the sloped bank toward the glossy surface of the nearby water. Stumbling, waddling and fumbling with their large wings was enough to make me chuckle out loud - until the moment they jumped in, or rather plopped in, to the water. Oh, it was not a graceful entry by any means but alas, at that singular moment: transformation. As I glared, the land-bound awkwardness disappeared, their long necks and cumbersome wings became dark graceful lines as they maneuvered like dancers through the water leaving hardly more than a ripple behind them. “You are truly beautiful” I thought to myself. My laughter turned to tears. How many times have we all felt like the awkward soul in the world? I lack grace and sophistication and in many instances I fumble and stumble, perhaps not physically, but mentally. (And truth be known, sometimes physically. As Murphy’s Law would have it, it is usually in a crowded room while holding a coffee). What about how we view others? Haven't we each passed judgment on another based on a split second observation? In this world we all have a pond in which we can find our grace. It may be different for each of us, and it may take a bit of waddling and stumbling along the way to find it, but once we are on the banks, transformation is before us. All we really have to do is plop in. Texas Lynn Cover