Just before dawn on a bitterly cold night I arrived at a wildlife sanctuary to help clean the enclosures for animals in recovery there. I was taken by a solitary barn owl huddled in the frigid dark. He was healing from several injuries before being returned to the wild and had clearly endured a long difficult night. I saw in him the quiet composure with which he sat, patiently waiting for the trial to pass. Whenever I am going through difficult times, I think of that owl and reach for the inner strength to endure, knowing that it is nearly dawn.
