Small animals and welcoming humans. Hope for the tired and overworked. A mini essay by me, Morgan Harper Nichols.

Have you ever seen a video or been around someone who had a small animal walk up to them?

Maybe it was a bird or a squirrel that came out of nowhere and suddenly they just seem to feel safe with them.

Or maybe this has happened to you. I have never had this happen to me, but I've seen it happen with

others and it's fascinating to watch. Suddenly, it's like worlds are colliding and this person and

animal are connected in a way that feels simultaneously

unique and new and also familiar. But one thing you'll notice when this happens is that the person

wasn't reaching out for the bird that landed on their shoulder. They weren't waiting for

hours for the squirrel or the chipmunk

to appear. It was like it just happened. What if we could allow ourselves to believe that good

things could happen that way in our life every day? What if we allowed ourselves to believe

that instead of having to work hard for every single thing,

beautiful good moments could find us even without us trying?

In times of uncertainty, it may seem nearly impossible for seemingly random good things to find us.

If you're in survival mode, you might just be trying to

keep your head above water, and if that's where you are right now, there's no shame in that. And also,

there are very real things that we have to take action on if we want to see meaningful change

happen in the world. And if we want to open the door

for others to have good and beautiful things happen in their lives. And at the same time,

we have to learn to let go. The person who is a friend to the animals probably has plenty of

moments where they are go-getters in their life

and they're out in the world seeking something. But in the moment when that small, innocent

...