Look Up

The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness, fullness thereof.  

This week, the tulip trees (Japanese magnolias?) have begun blooming all over the city.  I notice them as I am rushing to drop of my daughter at school, rushing to work, rushing home, rushing to the grocery store, and generally, well, rushing around.

I notice them, and they call to me.
To slow down.  To look up.  To take time, just a moment, to appreciate them while they are here.  Because they won't last forever.  Some gifts are brief.

And so yesterday, I paused.  I stood under a tree in a parking lot and looked up.

And peace came. I didn't even know I called it.  But it came.


What gifts call you to pause, and notice them? 

Reframing a Grey Day

My friend Dana (who's an amazing artist, by the way) once told me that it's only on a grey day that we notice the full vibrance of the greenery around us.  I think of that idea a lot when I'm driving around on rainy or cloudy days, and it's amazing how I suddenly start seeing the lush leaves, grass, and bushes all around me--color and beauty that would've likely gone unnoticed if it hadn't been for a sweet friend pointing it out to me.  I thought of that idea on this day, when Flannery and I were walking to our little neighborhood park between rain showers.  Isn't our street so lovely on such a grey day?

It's amazing how a little reframing made a rainy & even gloomy day into a fresh and gorgeous one.

 


What "grey" thought have you reframed that boosted your happiness?