Sunshine on Snow Sparkles like Diamonds

I believe all the riches we will ever need go mostly unnoticed. I wrote a poem decades ago where I lamented that most people probably don’t even pause to see a beautiful sunset. I wonder how many people took a moment out of their busy morning to notice the diamonds strewn across the fresh snow blown smooth by yesterday's winds.

As I gaze outside my window, the long shadows from a low-lying winter sun cast patterns in blue across the smooth surface of the snow. Where the sun touches white, tiny sparkles appear as the light is reflected off of even tinier surfaces on thousands of fallen snowflakes. Am I the only one who finds delight in this?

The other evening another sun pillar formed as the sun set. I’ve seen them even more rarely in the sunrise. A perfectly formed column of light shooting straight up from the orb as its light reflects off ice crystals. I watched in awe and delight.

Ice formed an enormous ring around the full moon the other night. It was Cosmo’s moon (from Moonstruck), glowing huge and bright and drawing me outdoors into the cold night. I was awestruck by the gigantic ring of light reflecting off ice crystals some distance from the moon. It seemed to fill the entire night sky. If I hadn’t ventured out, I would have missed seeing the spectacle.

One morning several summers ago, as I walked up the hill to our house, I stopped in my tracks. Sunlight was caught on the dewdrop at the tip of each blade of grass. I’ve never seen that before or since. The light was just right, and I happened to be at just the perfect angle to see the sparkling grass dewdrops, jewels strewn across my lawn.

How many of these precious moments of beauty slip past us as we hurry through our busy lives? How can we slow down to appreciate the moments of our lives before they become the past?

 We live in a forward-thinking society. New developments and inventions bring technological and functional advancements in living; ever faster, always more. While all of this is good, it seems we are always looking to the future rather than appreciating the time we have now.

Busy calendars keep us looking to the next task at hand. Appointments to be made and kept, birthdays and outings to look forward to; each day has a multitude of minutiae vying for our attention.  But can we pause long enough to pray, to seek connection with the Lord of our universe?

I believe we were meant for more than the hurried lives we lead. And the only way to slow things down is to purposefully do so. Pause. Look at the clouds today. What color is the sky? I fear people living and working in large cities never look up and see the expanse of glorious blue and the great variety of clouds that pass by.

Maybe I have more time to observe the natural world, but it is because I make it a priority in my life. That connection, for me, is what sustains me. And it is not just for its beauty alone, bur for the connection to my Creator. The One who made me also made the world I live and breathe in. The flowers and the trees and blue skies and mountains and rolling fields of wheat are gifts for us to enjoy. The vastness of the night sky and the oceans’ depths are made for us to ponder our smallness in the grand scheme of things.

Our self-importance leads us to believe that we must complete each and every task to feel worthy and accepted, when what we really need to do is stop and realize that this day will never come again; this moment in life is so brief, and should be savored. Bask in the sunshine, feel the breeze across your face. Watch the antics of a squirrel as he goes about his busy day of living.

We are all connected, all of life. Pause to feel that connection. Breathe. This is sustenance as much as food, water and sleep. Life won’t wait. Take the time today to believe in the importance of just being still for a moment. Be thankful for all you have been given. And give yourself the gift of peace.

Living in the Moment

Each moment that passes is gone in an instant. The millions of moments in our lives blur together to form every activity we do and every thought we have. We need to learn to appreciate and live for each moment, and to treasure the life that we live.

It is so easy to rush through our day with busyness and never pause long enough to value the moment right where we are. Surely, there are times when we wish the moments would speed on by, like when we are laying in the dentist chair, for instance, or waiting for the doctor while wearing a fashionable yet freezing paper gown.

But so many miniscule moments in each day pass by without their worth being enjoyed. Life is made up of moments, so we should savor those simple times.  This is a goal for me in this new year. To slow down just a bit, and to savor the life I am living.

I sat down to a steaming bowl of soup that I made for my lunch. I simmered it on the stovetop instead of zapping it in the microwave, and the flavors came through so much more. While it simmered I had time to make a double batch of brownies and get them in the oven, and yes, I savored the taste-testing of the batter as I prepared it. I could smell the soup cooking and anticipated the flavors through the aroma.

The moments of enjoying the hot soup, with vegetables and rice, might have gone differently in days past. Oftentimes I would sit down to eat and grab the nearest newspaper or magazine to read while I ate my lunch. Before I knew it, my food was gone and I hadn’t really experienced the pleasure of eating.

I am vegetarian and take time to prepare my own food. What a shame to eat it blindly without savoring the experience. Part of eating a healthy diet is the appreciation of the foods we eat and their benefits for our bodies. We should be cognizant of what we are eating and how quickly we are eating it. Our health depends on good food choices and healthy eating. It’s worth taking the time.

There are so many moments like this to savor. That first sip of coffee in the morning is such a treat for me. I open the back door and breathe a breath of fresh, cold, winter air and it makes me feel alive! I bundle up and take a winter walk through the woods, enjoying the sunlight blaring on pure white snow, and look for fresh animals tracks along the trails, enjoying the antics of the squirrels.

As the sun sinks into the evening sky, the colors are breathtaking and a good reason to pause and appreciate the peacefulness. The other day I saw a sun pillar as the sun set in the west. It was glorious! I wondered how many people noticed, or even saw it at all. Moments like these don’t last, and the unique beauty of nature is never repeated in exactly the same way. 

Apparently there were meteor showers to watch in the dark sky last night. Some friends ventured out at 3 a.m., away from city lights, to capture the brief moments of the meteors' entry into our atmosphere. Have you ever seen meteor showers? The flash of light happens so quickly that before you can say, “Look! There!” they are gone. How wonderful that these friends made a date with nature to appreciate the moments of beauty as they streaked by. 

Altogether we have 86,400 seconds to breathe each day, and this includes honoring our need for rest. Cherish the time your body must sleep. Allow ample time to relax and rejuvenate so that you can begin again tomorrow in your quest to savor the moments. These moments create your life, so delight in each moment as they come together to form the life you live.  

Life is a Matter of Moments

Moments that we breathe, and moments that take our breath away. Moments captured in a photograph, a memory to revisit whenever we choose. Our lives are made up of moments, some so hurried we barely notice them. Other times the clock slows and we measure every minute’s passing.

What makes a life? And what marks the passage of time? Moments. Some are sacred, blessed moments alone with our God. Perhaps found in a cathedral forest beneath the canopy, with feet on solid ground and our heart in the heavens. Treasured times hiking through a tall grass prairie under blue skies. Feeling oneness with nature and all living things. Breathe, and the moment passes. Live in the moment. Each one is sacred.

We live in times so hurried that we have to run to catch up with ourselves. Clocks ticking, seasons changing, and life never slows. Make it slow down. Make time to breathe, time to pray, time to sing and to share joy. Life truly is what we make of it. So make it what you want it to be.

What better time, with a new year looming on the calendar, to pause and reflect on what we consider a life well lived. In my heart, I believe we were made for more than a daily grind of work and duty. Certainly we must work, but there must be balance to know peace.

We make balance by making time for what speaks to our souls. For some, this may be the nature walks I described above. Others find peace in simply being still, and it matters not the location.

Sometimes we thrive on connections with other people, and our shared energy produces something much greater than we could create by ourselves. There is strength to be gained by joining forces with others, and inner strength to be found by focusing inward in our search for peace.

Take time to assess your life. Is it in balance? What do you need to add, or take away, to create balance and peace in your life? Remember that time passes too quickly to put this review process off until next month or next year.

It’s worth the time to evaluate where we are in this life and how we really would like to be living. Change is never easy, but it is always worthwhile. Let’s make the necessary changes to bring better balance to our lives as we go into the new year. The payoff of peace and contentment will be worth it.