From the Diary of A Wildlife Volunteer I often ask myself what is this life all about and why is there so much suffering in the world?  Rarely do I get a clear-cut picture but sometimes pieces of the puzzle reveal themselves.  Today I saw some of those pieces, which showed me that life is an opportunity to learn compassion and to feel and to give love.   The picture revealed that life’s journey can be difficult and cruel and not make sense; but with love and compassion from caring individuals, our path will be cleared of some of the obstacles that make us stumble and our strength will be restored. Today I learned all these lessons from a little squirrel named “Silver” whose short life of two months was filled with joy and enthusiasm and hope and surprises amidst the suffering that cost her, her life.  When expectations of her survival were most dim, it was in those times she offered me hope and brightened my day with the zeal she had for life.  She also taught me that statistics are not absolutes across the board and that reason is not always reasonable.  My statistics told me she would live only days when in fact it was two more weeks.  Reason told me there was no possible way her condition could reverse itself and time after time I found that to be an unreasonable assessment. Silver also made me question the strength of my faith.  Faith is believing in the unseen and  believing that miracles can happen to you.  It is said that if we had the faith of the smallest seed we could move mountains, but most mountains hold their ground because we doubt and reason that to be unreasonable.  Know that miracles do happen and continue to happen daily.  Unfortunately we do not always recognize them.  Every time I gave up on Silver and knew the end was imminent within a certain time frame, I was proved wrong, a miracle happened or reason became unreasonable, and the hopeless situation became filled with joy and celebration.  We need to believe for those who cannot, and offer them joy for allowing us to be part of their journey.  We all need refreshed and encouraged.  Hope is the energy boost that gets you or another on your feet.  Life without hope is lifeless and meaningless.  Hope is the light of the day that helps us see the importance of relationship-the interaction of individuals who have a mutual respect for one another and are willing to make another’s burden a little lighter. Today I learned all these lessons from a little squirrel named “Silver.”  Thank you Silver for reminding me of the person I wish to become.  You will be sadly missed but never forgotten. Love and gratitude from your surrogate Mom. Linda Haun