Wandering through the arboretum today on my birthday, May 16th, I finally saw my long-awaited dream. The Dove Tree, The Handkerchief Tree, Davidia involucrata in full bloom! So beautiful! Don’t miss this one! Last year I did miss this one, when I visited the Arboretum. It was early July and I was on a special trip just to see this tree. I went looking for the bloom, and it wasn’t there. This year I just happened to be walking through the arboretum, with no specific purpose in mind, but to enjoy the sights and scents all around me, when, as if out of nowhere, this tree was right in front of me. I had never noticed this specific one before, so I wasn’t expecting it or waiting for it. But there it was and I recognized it immediately. Doesn’t this happen to us all the time? When we want something, when we long for something, when we search for something, it’s just not there. We can’t find it. We try too hard. But when we immerse ourselves in life, not actively seeking, but becoming part of it, suddenly what we wanted is ours for the taking. Completely unexpected, the pieces fall into place. So easy life becomes when we stop trying. This funny life.