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Keen the Honey-bee

Once upon a time, there was a little honey bee named, Keen. 

Keen wanted to find true love. He felt like if he did, he would be the happiest bee in the world!! It felt like his calling in life to love someone that much, and to be loved that much by someone in return. 

Keen also wanted to go to Paris really badly. He thought it was a beautiful, magical place, and so romantic. He imagined taking in the view of the Eiffel Tower at sunset with his little lady. It was going to be awesome. 

Day after day, Keen would rush from flower to flower, sure that he was going to bump into that special person one day, and he’d just know. You know? 

But you see, Keen was so busy that he didn’t really appreciate the people who were around him as much. He would cut a conversation short, or he’d dismiss other precious little bees because they weren’t her. He didn’t want to waste any time! 

Keen started to feel sad, you see. He lived in Ohio, and Paris started to feel further and further away. He felt lonely. 


KEEN WAS FINISHING HIS last flower for the day. He was staying out just that much longer, giving that one-and-only the chance to bump into him. 

As he finished rolling around in the pollen, he noticed the light on the petals were a really pretty orange. He realized a totally epic sunset was going on. He turned around and looked at the view. 

It was beautiful. The light was perfect. It made him feel calm and happy.

He looked around to see if any of the other bees were watching. They weren’t. The few that hadn’t flown back to the hive yet just kept going about their work from flower to flower. 

That kind of made him feel like the sunset was just for him. The sunset had just been chilling there. It didn’t ask for attention. It was just being beautiful and no one was watching. Keen thought, ‘I gotta notice these more often!’ 

So every night, just before he flew back to the hive, he’d wait to see what the world had in store for him that evening. And without fail, each time, that darn sun would put on quite the show. 


BEFORE LONG, OTHER LITTLE bees caught on. They’d take a second and just check out the beautiful view. Over time, Keen stopped marveling at just the sunset, and became enthralled by the cool bees watching. 

He’d watch and interact with them, and felt about them like he did the sunset. He realized these bees had been wonderful and beautiful the whole time and he just hadn’t noticed yet. 

After one of these pleasant evenings, he gave his new friends real long hugs, and told them how much he loved them. Keen flew back to the hive. He took some time by himself and enjoyed the warm feeling in his heart. He stopped by a small puddle to wash his little hands and feet off from a hard day's work. 

In the light of the moon he caught his reflection. Usually he would just fly away or check out his antenas to make sure they looked spiffy and good enough. But today, he stopped and took a closer look. He started looking at himself like one of his new friends, like he did the sunset. He realized that he was someone he’d really like to be friends with. Keen was pretty cool and he hadn’t noticed yet. 

Keen wiped a tear from his eye, and began to laugh. He couldn’t stop laughing. He realized he was hanging out with the only person who totally understood him. Himself. Keen made his best friend that night. 


IT WASN’T LONG AFTER, that Keen found his special little honey. And you can bet they took an epic trip to Paris. They made each other so very happy. But that’s not really what this story is about.

You see, his whole life, Keen, more than any other feeling, was feeling grateful. Keen feels lots of feelings. But at the bottom of all those feelings, hanging out at the center of his heart, was the truest feeling of all — gratitude. Keen in this story had just forgotten it.

Even now, Keen still finds himself forgetting how grateful he is, and so that’s why he takes a second to stop and remember. And he always will. Because the world is beautiful — even when no one is there to watch. 

And no matter where you are, what you do or don’t have — you’ll always be able to find something beautiful going on, that you hadn’t noticed yet. Cuz that’s just how the world rolls.


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