Yoga class this morning, and this was the instructor’s instruction to us. It’s something I know. Something (I think) I practice. And something I can stand to be reminded of again and again and again.

And again.

There is so much pain and suffering in the world. There is so much to look at that is, or at least can be, upsetting. I could find reasons to be in pain and anguish in lives around me, and in my own life as well.

And there is so much beauty. It’s there for me to see, if I’ll just notice it.

It doesn’t mean the awful isn’t awful. It doesn’t mean I’m slapping a smiley face on the things that hurt, and suck, and need to be changed. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to fight the good fights and change what I can – in myself, my life, and my world.

It just means that in the midst of that fight, in the midst of every day, I can stop and notice. And notice again. I can literally and figuratively smell the roses.

It’s the sun shining again after a storm. Laughter with my friends of decades, as we eat a fine dinner looking over the ocean, with fireworks exploding behind us. It’s running into a good friend whom I haven’t seen for too long, and having a few minutes at a high school football game, as we even won the game. It’s the horde of yellow birds I saw not once but twice today.

I can pay attention to all the wonder and splendor and glory and love that surrounds me. Or I can not.

Beauty is all around you. Beauty is all around me. Don’t miss it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, and please share this post with others if it resonates with you!

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