Am I here?
Now?
I observe the sky, light blue with white clouds scattered across it.
Am I present?
I notice the seagulls soaring with the clouds, defying gravity while gaining height and speed.
Am I in the moment?
I hear the birds calling to each other, the plane racing across the sky, the trucks thundering on their way.
Am I aware, of now?
Life is happening all around me.
Shadows are cast as the sun flickers through the leaves.
Am I here?
Now?
Am I?

I walked.
I walked a different path today.
I walked past children playing at the playground.
I walked past dog walkers and joggers.
I walked farther than I had planned.
I walked down the lane through the fields of hay not yet harvested.
I walked while contemplating, life.
I stumbled upon a curious thing, a pink post-it note. Blank.
I picked it up. It stuck out in the golden hue of the fields.
I walked past blue cornflowers, white daisies, red poppies and purple thistles.
I saw one more bunch of pink post-it notes. I picked it up.
I looked along the lane, lifting my eyes to gaze further along.
There was one more and then one more pink post-its waiting for my hand.
I wrote my thoughts on each note, in my mind.
I composed poetry so exquisite on each pink note I picked up.
I raised my arms in gratitude.
I stopped to catch my breath.
I looked at my handful of pink post-its. Blank notes.
I put them in the pocket of my jacket.
I walked past the last bunch of pink post-it notes lying in the lane. Lost. In thought.
I walked down the lane farther than I had planned.
I walked on.

I came across a little dinosaur on my walk today. He was very shy and almost disappeared on the path. He was such a cute little fellow with a smile on his face and a couple of deep round dimples too. A short round snout made him look like he wore a permanent smile. His look was kind and he had a helpful and open expression. All in all his was a lovely face.

I wanted to ask him all manner of questions. A dinosaur, just think!! What a wonder and one so shy. What was such a creature doing here? On my path? During my walk? Surely this little fellow had gone astray, walked the wrong way? Turned left instead of right and walked a million years  away. Surely he was lost. I wasn’t sure how to address him and he didn’t offer up his name so I searched my brain – Dino came to mind and seemed to fit. His lovely face lit up, so the name, it stuck.

Dino had short little arms and a big tail, with spikes. He was sort of gray, with a bit of brown. His eyes were jet black and very kind. They were framed with lines that indicated he smiled quite often. No amount of cajoling could convince him to utter a single word.

It began to rain as I stood on the path, with Dino. No raincoat or umbrella had I so I suggested to Dino that we head for some cover, the trees at least. Dino remained where he was, on the path on which I walked. Not relishing getting absolutely soaked to the skin, I bid farewell to Dino, my new found friend. I hoped that I would see him again. He dimmed as I walked further towards home, the rain making him difficult to discern.

I looked for my little dinosaur the next day but alas he was gone. Nothing of him remained as the rain had seemingly washed him away. But, wait, looking closely at the path I could just barely make it out. A gentle, caring expression was just visible in the puddle. Dino had left a gift behind.