The very first thing I do each morning is to focus on beauty. Before I check my emails, or clean my house, or get ready to do errands or other work….. FIRST I focus on beauty and peace.
I feel like the flowers as they open up in the morning sun. All the world, in this moment, is new and bright and beginning.
Oh my, what a wonderful way to start my day!
This morning I thought about my grandson David when he was three years old. He often played in the garden, talking to the flowers and feeling the warm dirt sifting through his fingers.
He was fully in the moment . . . alive and content.
That is how I want my day to start. That is what I want for you too.
It is autumn here in Oregon, a time of brilliant color and wonder. It is as if nature is giving me a gift of color before the starker grays and whites of winter to come. How can I not be grateful?
I walk in the forest surrounding my home, smiling at the contrasts between shade and sunlight. I breathe in the cool air.
I bend to the earth to see closely the blooms turning to drifting seed pods. The intricate designs make me smile.
My grandson would understand, yes?
I stop and look closely at the maples leaves. All of nature’s transitions bring me awe and joy at this time of year.
I am grateful for the high desert grasses, their golden carpet at the feet of ancient mountains.
I am grateful for trees standing tall and proud in all seasons of their lives.
There is another memory I have on days like this about when I was 23 years old and my son Ryan was just a baby. (He is 44 now. WOW! How did that happen?)
I would take Ryan for walks each morning as autumn moved into winter. Ryan would laugh and smile at blowing leaves and butterflies.
I would smile at his laughter.
I came to understand that beauty and gratitude are gifts we give ourselves, but even more important it is a gift we give the children of our world. Yes?
Will you join me in gratitude and thoughts of beauty? I wish that for you.
Fondly,
Shaun
