Natalie loved to each lunch in the park near her home. She went there every day and sat in her favorite spot. She sat at the tops of the stairs on the north side of the park. The park had a beautiful lake with a fountain, and it had a gorgeous view of the idyllic scenery in the distance. The top of the stairs had a wall for her to lean against. She sat all the way of the left side of the stairs as she walked up to them. That gave her the best view while she enjoyed her time.

This park is where she felt comfortable to be herself. She could relax and let her hair down in this park.

After nearly a year of going to this park every day, something happened one day. She was having her lunch like usual, and she was enjoying the view, nothing out of the ordinary. Just moments after she let her hair down, a tiger jumped from behind the wall and came after her. She jumped to her feet and ran away in terror.

This incident scared her, and she wondered what happened. She wondered where this tiger came from. She didn't know that the tiger lived behind that wall. The tiger was there every day. The tiger came out that day for the first time for her to see. The tiger had been out previously, while she wasn't there.

She thought about not going the next day. She believed the tiger was a one time thing. That is her favorite spot. The next time she went, she was very cautious. Thank goodness, no tiger. The next few times she went, there was no tiger. The months went by, and she had all but forgotten about the tiger. Until one day, the same thing happened, and she ran away from the tiger again.

Now this happened twice, she began to question whether she wanted to go back to this park. The park was now causing her stress just thinking about it and whether the tiger will show up or not. With much dismay and sadness, she started to look for a new park. She knew the park could be anywhere, and there may be something without a tiger where she can feel safe.

She looked at a couple other parks, and she found one that was beautiful. She had to move past comparing the new park with the old favorite. They were different places for sure, and there were things she would say that she loved about the old one that the new one doesn't have. The new one has a couple things she likes that the old one didn't have. Once she was able to appreciate the beauty without comparison, she was able to fully appreciate the here and now.

Before she settled on that new park, she did go back to the old favorite. She loved it so much that she wanted to give another try, just appreciate the beauty again. The last time she went, she was stressed even thinking about being there. She was stressed the whole time, and then the tiger jumped out again. She was so scared and upset with herself for even thinking it would work. She wanted to believe and be in that place again. That's why she went back. It was so nice for so long. The tiger isn't there every time. But she finally accepted that she would rather be safe than have to worry about the tiger.

A year or so went by, and Natalie had fallen in love with the new park. She didn't really think about the old park much. She didn't think about it until one day she happened to be driving by. On that day, the good memories came flooding back, she remembered the good times, and she laughed about the tiger. She wouldn't be as scared today. When she reached the park, she could see her favorite spot. She stopped the car. There was no other traffic at that moment so she could look and remember. She noticed a major change to her favorite spot. The wall was removed. The place where the tiger lived no longer existed. The whole park was renovated, and her old favorite was the same but somehow completely different and better.