| The farmer found the mare lying on her side near | | | | to everything, but to the farmer, as he looked |
| the edge of the pasture. She was lying peacefully, | | | | across his fields and up at the sky filled with |
| almost as if sleeping; only occasionally raising her | | | | morning light, life seemed too large to fit it into |
| head to look back at where her first-born was | | | | anyone's neat little shoe box. |
| soon to meet this wondrous world. It was as if | | | | He was almost home now, and noticed that he |
| she had done this many times, and perhaps she | | | | was so lost in thoughts and memories that he |
| had, in the recesses of that mysterious mind of | | | | completely missed the beauty of this farm he so |
| her species. | | | | loved, stunning in the morning dew with the |
| She watched carefully as her foal's head | | | | sounds of roosters, and the whisper of the |
| appeared. She showed no pain or apprehension, | | | | ever-present wind. How could he be so |
| only reflecting the immense peacefulness of this | | | | shortsighted and blind to miss out on all of this |
| quiet meadow as it sheltered its two special | | | | beauty? How could he be so self-absorbed, that |
| beings; nothing else was in this moment. | | | | life, and its incredible moment-to-moment |
| And as the farmer watched the miracle of birth, | | | | meaning, simply slipped away from him time and |
| the farmer disappeared; he became one with the | | | | again? |
| mare and her colt. | | | | The farmer wanted to talk to his wife about |
| While the colt struggled within its first few | | | | these things, but this was not the right time; she |
| moments of life, the mare stood and began licking | | | | was busy getting ready for the day ahead. Maybe |
| him, protecting him, and in that precious moment, | | | | later tonight . . . but then they would be tired. |
| the meaning of life was as self-evident to the | | | | That night, as he watched her sleep, the tears |
| farmer as it ever could be. How could there be | | | | came again. They seemed to come more |
| more meaning to life than what he was | | | | frequently now. Perhaps it was because he |
| discovering in this miracle before him? | | | | seemed to touch the meaning of life a little more |
| The mare vigilantly watched over her new colt | | | | often lately, and it in turn touched his heart. It |
| for the better part of an hour, until it finally stood | | | | was right there in the pasture today, with the |
| upright on its wobbly legs, tail wagging. It looked | | | | mare and her new colt, but it slipped away once |
| out at its new world, in awe; that exceptional awe | | | | again. |
| reserved for the sensitive, those who can see | | | | If only he could remain in those special moments, |
| without the burdens of life smothering their minds. | | | | moments that he knew in his heart were eternal; |
| And as the colt moved instinctively toward its | | | | moments that were so special in their own right |
| mother for protection, the farmer quietly turned | | | | that within each one was its own particular |
| and walked back to his own world, his gaze falling | | | | meaning of life, and the meanings and moments |
| across row upon row of corn. He noticed, yet | | | | moved so quickly! Far too quickly for the farmer |
| again, how the crop was stunted from the | | | | to capture them, possess them. He could only |
| drought. The money he and his wife had saved | | | | look upon each moment with the eyes of a |
| might have to be tapped once more. | | | | newborn foal - with awe and wonderment. |
| The pains in his chest were coming more | | | | He also knew - somewhere deep inside, cultured |
| frequently now. He thought about getting checked | | | | from so many years on this silent land - the |
| out, but if he needed an operation, or expensive | | | | secret to life. Not only life, but beyond life. He |
| drugs, how could they afford it? No, he had | | | | knew that no matter where he found himself, |
| burdened his wife with far too much already. | | | | either here or in the hereafter, if he could but |
| Maybe the pains would go away. | | | | remain in each moment without himself in the |
| He thought back to his own firstborn, the | | | | way, then, the meaning of life would express |
| wonderment of it, and how after only a few | | | | itself in every moment, moment-to-moment, |
| hours the baby died. The midwife did what she | | | | eternally. |
| could, but she was not schooled in these things as | | | | Perhaps the farmer would never be able to speak |
| well as a doctor would be. It wasn't her fault; it | | | | of these things, or about the meaning of life; he |
| was nobody's fault, yet the farmer lived with it all | | | | was a simple man. However, he knew these |
| these years, as he held his wife close every night. | | | | things in his heart, and that night, as he watched |
| On his way back to the farmhouse, the farmer | | | | his life partner sleep; his precious moment |
| pondered the meaning of this life. The preacher | | | | became everything. . . |
| seemed to have it all figured out, had an answer | | | | |