As I was sipping coffee on the deck this morning, phone in hand, crossword puzzle in front of me, I suddenly stopped and looked up. In that moment, I realized everything else could wait, and I just sat and appreciated what was in front of me. I said (out loud), “My beautiful world.” And immediately my mind wanted to run through all the things that are not so beautiful in my world and in our larger world. Again, I stopped myself and focused on what IS beautiful in my world at this moment. Not what might not be beautiful later or tomorrow, or what is not beautiful beyond the boundaries of my little world, but what is beautiful right here, right now.
Stop. Look up. Find something beautiful in your world, your day in this moment and just soak it all in. Appreciate the good, glorious, mystical, magical world around you. Listen for a bird call. Watch a spider spin a web. Stand barefoot in the grass, no matter how small the patch might be. Just BE for a minute or two. Do nothing but breathe. Be still and be grateful for the blessings. The problems will always be there, but the blessings are also always pulsing around all the edges of our life and sometimes right smack in the middle of it. Take time to notice today.
