Dear Friends,
It's time for a story for children and the young at heart.
Once upon a time,
In a small village,
There lived a young girl named Lily.
One sunny afternoon,
Lily decided to take a walk by the river near her home.
The water sparkled in the sunlight and the trees swayed gently in the breeze.
All of a sudden,
Lily spotted something shining.
It was a smooth,
Round pebble.
It was half buried in the sand.
So Lily picked up the pebble.
It felt cool and comforting,
So she tucked it into her pocket and decided this would be her special treasure.
Just as she was about to leave,
An old woman appeared by the river,
As if out of nowhere.
This woman wore a long green cloak and she had a kind,
Wise smile.
A beautiful smile on her face.
Hello,
Lily,
The woman said.
I see you've found a special pebble.
Lily was surprised that the woman knew her name.
She looked at the pebble in her hand and said,
It is pretty,
But it's just a pebble.
I'm going to keep it as my special treasure.
Ah,
But it's more than just a pebble,
Lily.
If you take this pebble with you and keep it close,
It will help you see the world in a whole new way.
Lily couldn't understand what was going on,
But she thanked the woman and she made her way home.
The next morning,
Lily woke up.
It was a bright sunny day.
And she decided to give the pebble's magic a try.
So she took it out.
She held it in her hand and stepped outside into the garden.
And that is when things began to change.
The world around Lily seemed different.
It seemed brighter and more alive.
The flowers in the garden weren't just flowers anymore.
They were little miracles,
With petals so delicate that Lily could see tiny drops of dew sparkling on the petals,
Just like diamonds.
The birds were singing,
But the songs weren't just sounds.
They were like joyful conversations,
As if the birds were sharing secrets with one another as they sat there singing in the trees.
Lily looked up at the sky.
The clouds seemed like giant,
Fluffy mountains,
Angel hair,
Floating in a sea of blue.
And when the wind blew through her hair,
It felt like Lily was receiving a gentle hug from the earth itself.
And so it went on.
Everywhere she went that day,
Lily noticed things that she had never seen before.
She saw tiny insects crawling in the grass.
She noticed the way leaves danced on the trees.
And she saw how the sun cast golden beams of light through the branches.
It was wonderful.
Lily realized that the pebble wasn't magical because it changed the world.
It was magical because it changed how Lily looked at the world.
The wonders of the world were always there.
Lily hadn't just noticed them before.
From that day on,
Even through her childhood and as she grew up to have children herself,
Lily carried that pebble with her always.
It reminded her to slow down and really see the beauty of the world around her.
So Lily learned that lesson.
Her children learned that lesson.
Her grandchildren learned that lesson.
And every time any of them did,
They remembered that our world is full of magic,
Waiting to be discovered.
We could all learn a lesson from Lily.
Namaste.
