Life’s most important lessons come our way from so many sources and directions, often when we least expect them. Some of the lessons we learn are predictable, say when we park ourselves in lecture hall seats. Others are much more spontaneous and unanticipated, often in delightful ways. The chance encounter with a sage seatmate on an airplane flight who shares what she’s learned about aging gracefully. The person standing behind us in the supermarket checkout lane who waxes philosophically about life’s enduring riddles. Or, perhaps the daily lessons our beloved pets teach us about what it means to love and be loved. The poet Mary Oliver offers us lessons about living a life: “Pay attention. Be Astonished. Tell about it.” Darlene Trew Crist tells us what she’s learned by paying attention. Darlene Trew Crist comes to us from Providence, where she runs her own firm, Crist Communications.
