I was hiking at the Bergamo retreat center last week and came out of the tress to overlooking this open area. It isn’t that easy to see in the photo, but there was a deer in field (just right of center). I was pleasantly surprised to see the deer.

I read a quote from Simone Weil (1909-1943) last week: “We do not obtain the most precious gifts by going in search of them but by waiting for them.” There is another saying that is the flip side of being pleasantly surprised. “Be careful what you ask for.”

The bottom line is that we often don’t recognize what we truly want (or are asking for).