It seems that, in this world that we live in, it is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life that we very often miss out on enjoying life. Between working to make ends meet, the fast pace of raising kids with all of their activities, keeping up with home life and the pursuit of recreation it is difficult sometimes to see what is right in front of us. We always seem to have to be this place at this time and get so wrapped up in the schedule that we forget to slow down and just enjoy what is.
Yesterday I had plans for how I was going to spend my day off. My intent was to finish up my Christmas shopping, write a post and do some laundry. Yesterday it snowed. Not an “oh, isn’t it pretty” and now let me get on with my day snow, this was a heavy, wet, shut everything down, cars all over the road, power out kind of snow, . Christmas shopping cancelled. Laundry halfway done. No writing.
I decided that I would go for a walk to take some pictures of the snow. It was cold and wet, but I enjoyed the beauty of the new fallen, mostly untouched scene around my neighborhood. I ventured off of the sidewalk to explore. I noticed that underneath a very large tree was a very large limb on the ground and wondered whether it had laid there for a while or if it had fallen because of the snow. I suddenly heard a very loud crack and watched as another large limb from the same tree came crashing down. As I watched, it occurred to me that this was truly a one-of-a-kind moment. If I had not been in that spot, at that moment, I would not have seen the awe of mother nature doing her thing.
I started to think about all the “moments” that I had experienced just in the last week, things that I was able to enjoy only because of the sheer luck of being in the right place at the right time. Last Saturday was the annual Williamsburg Christmas Parade. If we work that morning we have to take a different route to work as they close the roads on our normal route for the parade. As we took the detour, I saw a gorgeous, large hawk sitting on a backyard fence. He was just sitting on the fence, looking around and was more than likely unnoticed by most of the cars passing by. The moment was so brief that by the time the words came out of my mouth to point him out to Chris we had already passed him by.
Later as we returned home from work we saw a large buck on the side of the road. He looked as if he were going to cross, so we stopped for him. He had a lovely rack (8 or 10 points I think). He just stood next to our car, staring at us, before bounding back into the woods. In that moment it seemed as if time stood still.
Monday night we went to visit our friends, Wil and Kylie, as we had not seen them in some time. Wil would not be home until after 8:30 and Kylie was working so we went to the restaurant that she worked at for dinner and then followed her to their new home. As we approached the road to their neighborhood, we passed the most beautiful display of Christmas lights. I wanted to take pictures, but we weren’t able to stop as we were following Kylie and didn’t know exactly where we were going. I told Chris that I wanted to stop on our way out if the lights were still on.
We left their house around 12:30 and stopped next to the light display. As I started to get out of the car, the lights started going off. Disappointed, we pulled back on the road. As we came around the other side of the building I decided that there were enough lights still on to get a nice photo and pulled over again. As I walked over to the display, the owners saw me and turned the lights back on. Surrounded by the thousands of twinkling lights, in a place that I would not normally be, it was truly a magical moment.
Later in the week we gave a co-worker a ride home. As we headed down the road, a possum ran out. I stopped to avoid hitting him. He doubled back and then decided to cross again. He was adorable as he waddled across the road in front of us.
It is so easy to miss these special moments when we are always in a hurry with things to do and places go. Sometimes it takes a little effort to force yourself to slow down and notice the little things in life, but it is effort well spent as enjoying the little things brings such a richness to being. Bask in the essence of the simple. It truly brings the greatest pleasure.
This is true, we often do not take in the simple pleasures. I’m grateful for the moments I take to look at all creation big and small. Thank you for the reminder.