Last Winter, I rented an off season, fully-furnished house on the beach of Lake Ontario. Beauty was all around me...the lake effects made it all the more beautiful. It was so easy to find the wonder of everyday life when all I had to do was to look up. I snapped this sunset out of the living room window.
The sunrises and sunsets were magnificent, colors I have never seen before reflected in the sky and water. Such a sanctuary, then reality set in and I had to move into a regular apartment in town when the winter season was over.
Now I'm finding it harder to find the beauty of the earth and of the skies when it is not outside my window. What does that have to say about me? Probably that I am the same as you.
Reliving those glorious days on the lake has been sweet sorrow. Those memories pop up on my facebook feed as a reminder of what I no longer have. Wonderful memories turned into longing for days gone by and sadness. I don't think I am alone in thinking thoughts like this.
I purposefully have to challenge myself to find beauty in what is around me in the present moment. I tell myself...It's not impossible, it is a choice.
So, I decided to walk around my new apartment building intentionally looking for something cool to snap a picture of. I was on a mission to find beauty no matter where I lived.
Well, guess what? It was a lot easier than I thought. It was a even a little bit like searching for buried treasure. The picture below is what I found by looking down...at the ground, not up, out my window.
What I learned is that I found what I looked for.
If you search for the wonder of beauty, you will find it.
When I opened my mind to seeing beauty anywhere, it appeared. Both of my pictures are beautiful but in very different ways.
If I had not looked hard by looking down at the ground, I would have missed this daisy growing through the rocks which was very inspiring to me.
I have to remind myself to be mindful of my thoughts when I get stuck in my everyday routine and start feeling overwhelmed or sad.
I do know it feels a whole lot better to search for what's good in everyday life than to feel sad, lament about the past, or overwhelmed in the moment.
What can we do? Let's remind each other to be mindful of what we seek, and we shall find it.