In mid November I hiked Sugarloaf mountain with a special friend. About one third of the way up the mountain we stopped, I don’t recall why. After a couple of minutes we heard rustling in the distance and thought it was a lost dog coming up the hill. As three deer sauntered closer, we realized the small, white animal was no dog at all. She was a rare piebald deer. Mostly white with brown spots on her back and face, these ghosts of the forest are said to occur just once in every thirty thousand deer. She was trailing behind a doe, and flanked by a large buck. My friend and I stood in complete awe. Jaws dropped, hearts racing, we knew this was likely a once in a lifetime sighting. We did not take a picture, rather we stood almost motionless, taking in the moment with every cell in our bodies. The moment was brief, as the family of deer ran off in a new direction, white fur disappearing down a slope of leafless trees.

Such an experience certainly leaves a person wonderstruck. What where the chances that I would have been standing in that spot at that time? Why was I so lucky? There is a deep sense of gratitude for having witnessed a life so beautiful and rare. As I reflected over the days and weeks, I kept thinking that yes, the sighting was rare, but what if I saw all of the moments of my life as completely unique? When we hug a friend, kiss a lover, breathe in the smell of our child’s hair, we are experiencing distinctive moments. Though we may hug that friend or kiss that lover again, the moments will be different each time. Like watching a single leaf fall from a tree top, we know that we will never again see that leaf fall from that tree, onto that spot of earth. What if we learned to be so wise, and so full of gratitude, that we didn’t assume things will always come. Instead, we could learn to see each life affirming moment for what it is: a gift. A ghost of the forest.