[Note: Most of this column was originally published in the Journal November 22, 2010]

Thou who hast given so much to me, give one thing more – a grateful heart. – Rev. Don Schlosser

Delight. Just hearing the word brings a lovely kind of energy, doesn't it? Imagine living in the arms of delight each day.

Combine delight with mystery. That is what I was seeking in the moonlight photograph.

Fall into the delight of mystery through the magic of "a grateful heart." Gratitude. Why do I forget this message – except maybe at Thanksgiving.

For example, a friend asked me recently if I felt loved by nature. Never having considered this, I couldn't answer.

If I were truly grateful for nature I would feel her embrace, wouldn't I? Why wasn't I in touch with that?

The question led me down the forest path to delight to a gift that was always there, just never unwrapped. Perhaps, you can feel that mystery & delight in the second photograph taken in a park near my downtown office. The path leads us out of (or into) a wet darkness toward a mysterious person in the distance.
Love never turns us away. The only question is whether we will accept her quiet invitation. 

Whatever worries circle your heart gratitude & delight can keep them at bay. 

Outside the halls of hospitals, hospices and nursing homes, nature exhales the aroma of life. Beyond the cafeteria, woods, waterfalls, gardens, the sea. all offer Love's boundless energy.

Do you feel loved by nature? Do you feel delight right now, not because you are supposed to, but because the word offers you its own special energy?

Love holds us as close as we allow. She is the mystery of delight ready to wrap us in her veil of joy.

-Reverend Erie Chapman

Photographs: "Delight & Mystery" & "Narrow Path" by Erie