This touched me this morning...

Trying to Be Thoughtful in the First Brights of Dawn

I am thinking, or trying to think, about all the
imponderables for which we have
no answers, yet endless interest all the
range of our lives, and it's

good for the head no doubt to undertake such
meditation; Mystery, after all,
is God's other name, and deserves our

consideration surely. But, but -
excuse me now, please; it's morning, heavenly bright,
and my irrepressible heart begs me to hurry on
into the next exquisite moment.

~ Mary Oliver ~

(Swan)

From an egroup I am on:

The Fable of the Porcupines

It was the coldest winter ever - many animals died because of the cold.

The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together.

This way they covered and protected themselves;

But the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other

After awhile they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen

So they had to make a choice:

Either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.

Wisely, they decided to go back to being together

This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion

But the most important part of it, was the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.

Moral of the story:

The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.