"Christopher Hogwood came home on my lap in a shoebox. He was a creature who would prove in many ways to be more human than I am." - Sy Montgomery

I included Sy Montgomery's Spell of the Tiger in an assignment on good man-eating animal books earlier this summer, so when a classmate recommended The Good Good Pig, I put it on my list for this trip and didn't think much about it.

Then I started reading, and was hooked. It's a simple story about a pig, who comes to live in a barn and shows those around him to enjoy life, to love much, and to be exactly who they are. It's lovely. I found myself laughing along with Christopher Hogwood's antics, and missing the animals in my life very much.

In the end, Montgomery details a talk she's giving at a college, talking about unexpected blessings, ones she had in years of doing animal research around the globe. Like when a guide fell through and she ended up with a new amazing guide, or when Jane Goodall didn't come to an established meeting, but she got to do chimp research herself.

Blessings, all. In each case, I hadn't found what I had hoped for or expected. Instead, I'd discovered something far more exciting or profound - an unexpected insight, a surprise gift. "And that's a pretty good definition of a blessing," I said. "So go out into the world where your heart calls you. The blessings will come, I promise you that. I wish for you the insight to recognize blessings as such, and sometimes this is hard...So be ready. There are great souls and teachers everywhere. It is your job to recognize them."

I am re-learning this on this trip. I mean, I suppose it's a lesson we learn and re-learn constantly, to take whatever comes as a gift, and to be awake enough to recognize the gifts.