Friday Five--5 Good Things

Over at RevGalBlogPals, Deb posted this week's Friday Five:

Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.
Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.


===oOo===


In these last few weeks there's been all kinds of bad news. Tornadoes and a blizzard. Gun violence and a legislative body squabbling like toddlers over budgets, health care and who knows what else. For those of us in the US, it's tax season. Yuck.


We're only in the second week of Lent. Easter's a long way off. And here in the Mid-Atlantic region, the weather can't seem to make up its mind. Is it winter? Is it spring? Will it snow? Will it rain? Are my daffodils doomed if they actually BLOOM next week like they are threatening to?


So this week's Friday Five is courtesy of my good friends Frodo and Sam. Tell me 5 things that are good in our world. Or your world. Photos are a bonus.


===oOo===


1. Soft snow. Despite how much I long for spring, Colorado has needed precipitation to offset the dry conditions we've had all year... and it snowed all day yesterday! Not only did it snow (almost) non-stop, is was soft, dry, delicate snowfall, so it was quite pretty, and easy to get off my car as needed.
2. Animal companions. When I come home from a difficult day, or when I'm sitting with my coffee in the morning, there is nothing more comforting than a furry creature on my lap. They trust us to care for them and love us for who we are. I think they make the world a better place.
3. Passion. While I can get frustrated when I interpret some people's passion as single-mindedness, I'm grateful for how they try to change the world for the better, for God's realm on earth.
4. Creativity. Art makes us think. It makes us pause. It makes us use a different part of our brains. Visual art, written art, sung art--all of it is "good" in this world.
5. Wee ones. I'm not a parent, but I have the joy of having kiddos around me often. They most assuredly are "good" in the world. When there is bad news, they bring us a different perspective. When I'm in pain, having to focus on one of them takes me out of myself.