[blockquote source=”Elizabeth Gilbert”]“In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.” [/blockquote]

When I was just 8-years-old, I had occasion to care for a newborn raccoon.

His mother had been killed crossing one of our busiest streets, leaving her little one all alone in a world that was still very new.

Not wishing to leave the only comfort he had ever known, he stayed all night next to her lifeless body – until he was finally rescued the following morning.

Imagine having to learn such a monumental lesson at such a young age?

But, he adapted so gracefully to these changes – and welcomed, with open heart, the love we all had to share.

My father was gracious enough to provide him safe quarters in the shed across the creek, but Rocky was never one to stay where he was told. And, there was just no keeping him from the family he adored.

From the first moment I held him in my arms, I could sense his gratitude – alive and coursing with the fullness of, ‘oh, thank goodness you’re here!’ It was the energy he carried from the day we first rescued him…the day he learned the true joy in Tomorrow’s promise.

He ‘repaid’ the kindness by sharing his lessons with me. In one summer, I learned…

How to wander, unafraid, through the many acres of woods;

How to find the best resting spot amongst the branches of our tallest oak;

And, how to sit still just long enough for the butterflies to find me.

As Rocky grew older, he would venture further from the house – always returning in time to for his favorite treat (egg on toast, with a side of grapes).

Though, one night he didn’t return, at all. My mother tried to comfort me, “He’s grown up now, it’s time for him to move away.” Every day, I watched from the window – in my heart, I knew, he’d come back again.

One day, as I was sitting on the front porch – I heard his distressed cry. His leg had been badly mangled by a hunter’s steel trap, and his front paws were bloodied trying to free himself.

With limb literally dangling, he dragged himself up the front steps and into my arms; back to the comfort once lost, but found again.

My mother snapped this picture on our way to see Dr. Schwartz – the local vet. I was the only one he would allow to hold him, and I held him until his leg was healed again. She was amazed that an animal in such pain would know to seek comfort.

Though, in time I realized – he was there to comfort me.

Even though I loved him dearly, I knew the very best ‘gift’ I could give, was the one he first shared with me:

To love something, is to allow it to be free.

I found refuge for Rocky at a nearby nature preservation – where he could spend the rest of his life exploring, without the fear of a hunter’s trained weapon.

Too often, when we love – we live in fear of losing it. But, it’s only when we step away – that we realize, how much a part of us they have become.

In this way, can we ever really lose them at all? Or, does their energy manifest in quite another form?

And though, I miss Rocky still to this day – I know, in the end, the final lesson he shared was that of unconditional love.

Can you imagine learning this monumental lesson at such a very young age?

My dears, this energy we share each day? It becomes the greatest hope for Tomorrow’s promise.