My son created a game for a bunch of us to play over Easter weekend. The invitation included the zoom info, time, a description and one little word. 

 

"Prizes!!"

 

My heart skipped at the prospect. Which surprised me. It was after all a virtual game, played transcontinentally with a dozen or more of his friends. It was not as if he could pop jelly beans in the mail. I mean he could but the postage would exceed the cost at the local Trader Joe's. Plus it makes more sense as we near retirement to reduce our possessions rather than increase them. Still I was curious. 

 

A friend has been working on self examination. She went so far as to research the definition of the seven deadly sins and discovered that only one of them lacks a prize. Greed brings with it an increase in jewels or cash. Gluttony results in a third slice of pie. Pride is a way of elevating yourself above everyone else which is like winning the six foot stuffed bear at the county fair. Great. So you are the best. Now what do you do with it? Sloth is a marathon of naps. 

 

But envy offers no compensation. 

 

When we unleash within ourselves a propensity to jealousy, we open the trapdoor beneath our own feet. There is no saturation point for wanting. On the contrary coveting renders us blind to the blessings under our nose. 

 

There are a clutch of daffodils on the table next to me. Their presence brings comfort in these days of uncertainty. Their only absolute is the brevity of blooming, and yet that does not seem to inhibit their grace. They are the picture of acceptance.... immune to wishing for more dirt, warmer air, a larger audience. I see no evidence of resentment toward the attention we lavish on  roses who are the centerpiece of many banquets, or night blooming cereus who have been known to be the guests of honor at parties. 

 

My life has taken a turn of late. So has yours. What if the real point of of these changes is to give us a prize? It would need to be something easily transported across time zones and hemispheres. It probably does not fit in a pocket. While I am tempted to sink to envy of the freedoms I took for granted only six weeks ago there is little payback in such longings. 

 

But maybe there is something as subtle as a clump of jonquils.