Nourishment for the Soul

There is something inherently beautiful in understanding that the Universe will provide us with exactly what we need.  Now, I say need, because there are times when all I want, is to consume an entire hot fudge sundae with extra whipped cream.  It is then that I step outside, to find that the cherry tomato bush that I planted in the beginning of summer, is bearing seven gorgeously sun-ripened tomatoes.  Enough for a perfect salad, complete with butter lettuce, crisp cucumber and seven, still warm from the sun, tomatoes.  A little bit of heaven.

It is truly in the details, in the minute, seemingly insignificant things that we might often find our deepest needs fulfilled.
And yet, unless we look very closely, unless we stop to examine the ordinary things that make our souls cry out with joy, then we often neglect to notice the simple miracles which are placed right on the path in front of us.
How many times, during my walks on the beach, have I passed over a simple piece of seaweed covered in vibrant bubbles from the ocean?  
Art created by nature, so simple, yet complex when actually examined.  What I thought I wanted during my walk along the beach, that day, was seaglass.  What I found was what I needed.  A second look at seaweed covered in rainbow-tinted bubbles.
The miracles are endless.  I realize this as I come upon an enormous, tree-size piece of driftwood that is wedged into the sand.  It would probably take several good strong men and a large truck to move this tree.  And yet the ocean, in all of her lovely splendor, somehow effortlessly tossed this onetime tree around in her waves, and then deposited it on the shore.
Huge mounds of seaweed showing off their roots in the open air, like giant sunflowers raising their heads to the sun.
And this little guy.  A foreign looking , alien-like creature, smaller than a half-dollar, stuck on the sand.  If I had not looked down, if I had not stopped to examine its unusual appearance then I might never have learned that this is a star fish.(Google is also a small miracle.)  And my oldest daughter, my sweet angel, might not have saved its life by gingerly picking it up and placing it back into the ocean. 
Coming up on this rock, my first reaction to it was that it resembled a human heart.  Not the cute little hearts that we all love so much, but a real heart with arteries and ventricles and the Life Force coursing through its veins.  It almost took my breath away.
A Sea Urchin.  Absolutely perfect in its form and grace.  After reading a bit about the Sea Urchin, I discovered how incredibly important it has been in the study of immunology.  And yet, to me, it's just beautiful.
I could not exactly figure out what this was before it became a part of the shoreline landscape.  Possibly a giant Sea Urchin?  
Standing on my deck at the end of a hot summer afternoon, I spotted these two graceful dolphins and my heart skipped a beat.  I will never tire of seeing dolphins out on the open sea.  They are some of the most humbling and awe-inducing creatures in the world.  Somehow, I always seem to spot them when I really need to.  Rarely, if ever, when I want to.

We often think that we know what we need because it is what we want at the time.  But oftentimes, our desires are only made clearer if we open ourselves up to the possibilities.  I cannot say that I do not sometimes indulge in the pleasures of a hot fudge sundae.  I do.  But I thank God for the miracles that sometimes lead me in the direction of fulfilling my needs, especially at times when even I am not exactly sure what they are.