Finding Beauty in This Moment

I don't set an alarm, ever, but I'm always awake by 6 am anyways. I hit the ground running, shower and dressed, kids up, dressed and fed, lunches made, papers signed, bags packed. Feed the dog, start the laundry, don't forget to brush your teeth... The list goes on and on. Kids to school,  work, laundry, house cleaning one kid has an appointment at the orthodontist,  another appointment at school, the dentist, the eye doctor,  the grocery shopping, pick up kids from school, check the chickens for eggs, clean out your lunch boxes, who has homework? Clean the bathroom,  flip the laundry, what's for dinner?

Finally, my littles go to bed. But it doesn't end. Clean the kitchen, fold the laundry, do my school work, start the dishwasher,  feed the cats, clean the litter box.  Eventually I can fall in to bed, exhausted. This is the American dream?  This is my life.

But is this all there is? Why do we run all day? What is the point to this rat race? Is there some personal satisfaction from this? Or is it a routine that gets done because that is what is expected?  I don't have the answers. I do what must be done to take care of my children and my home. What I do know is that in the daily routines of living there is beauty to be found.

Before I leave my bed in the morning I lay perfectly still and savour the feel of my cats on my feet. When I meditate my cat comes and rubs against me and purrs.  On the way to the shower I look out the window and smile at the sunlight reflecting on the river. I wake up my girl with a song and hugs and kisses.  We share a little snuggle. I turn the music on, loud, and we dance and sing together. While I'm driving here and there I see a beautiful flowering Northern Catalpa tree. I notice the great blue heron in the water and the little tiny birds in the parking lot of the store.  I pause to check out a dragonfly.  I stop at the deli and Bob, the deli guy, gives me a hug and a kiss.


There is beauty to be found in every moment if you can just open your eyes to see. It is in the world around us the trees, the flowers, the birds, the animals. But also in the people, a newborn baby, a parent tending to their child with loving patience, a woman helping her elderly mother, the twinkle in an eye, the smile on a face, the touch of a hand.




Our problem is not that the beauty is not there, our problem is that our eyes are closed to the beauty that surrounds us. We all have the choice to open our eyes and see or  to walk through our days with blinders on. I know I have somewhere to be and something to do but this moment, right here, right now, has something valuable to offer me. I might find it in your smile. I might find it in the feel of the breeze against my skin. I might find it in the sweet taste of the strawberry in my mouth. I might find it in the glory of the sunrise. One thing is for sure, I won't find it if I don't first pause and look for it. I won't find it if I rush blindly from one chore to the next,  one place to the next.


Some day my littles will be grown and gone. My chore list will dwindle. The piles of dirty laundry and dirty dishes will disappear.  The endless rounds of appointments and sport practices and piano lessons will cease. No more little voices will be wondering "what's for dinner Mom?" And then where will I be?

I don't know what that long distance future will hold. But I know that this moment, as I sit at the edge of the water listening to children play and splash, I feel the water lapping against my feet, the breeze blowing my hair in my face, the sun warm on my skin...I see beauty all around me and I cherish this moment.