I was thinking today ….not only at sunrise while I was driving through Southern New Jersey to work, but also as I took the train over at dusk into Philadelphia for my night class ….about the beauty in things. It sounds trite or cliché, perhaps, but do you ever just stop and observe? Granted, it is somewhat difficult to do while driving a car, but to notice how the colors come across the sky in the morning just before the sun comes over the horizon, or how the colors shift as the sun is setting over the Philadelphia skyline. I suppose I am artsy by nature (I fancy myself a photographer, writer, and artist….maybe in another life, haha), but the little things we pass by in our rush to get going in the morning. The way that the icy frost has settled on the windshield in such a funky, beautiful display. Or the way the leafless trees are silhouetted against a dawning sky.
I just feel like we all get so wrapped up in everything we have to do each day that we have a tendency to forget what is important. And perhaps what colors are being painted across the sky in the morning, or the soft gentleness of freshly fallen snow does not seem important to everyone. But it always brings me back to the title of this post - Begin each day with a grateful heart. And I am guilty of losing sight of that mantra from time to time, but I like to think that I try my damnedest to be grateful for the simple beauty around us, the fact that it was here long before us and will be long after us, and that there is something bigger than my daily to-do list. It puts into perspective on a daily basis that there is important work to be done, but nothing can truly be accomplished if we cannot be peaceful in both heart and soul and grateful and mindful of the sometimes simple things that surround us.
So…on your journey today or tomorrow….try to remember that mantra. Because even if you are having a really bad day, and it seems like everyone is out to make you mad or to bring you down, you can remember that there are reasons for why people do what they do and say what they say. And perhaps they are fighting a bigger battle today than you are. And without a doubt…someone is having a worse day than you…and could probably use a little empathy and compassion. But you don’t know who that person is. So why not put your own day in perspective and try to make someone else’s better – because it ultimately helps the giver more than the receiver. And if you try to do this every day, it becomes a habit of helping someone else instead of yourself…and it puts everything into a more positive light, even on those really crappy days. So begin tonight, or tomorrow, with a grateful heart. And think about what that means. And consciously take the time to notice something beautiful. And you will start to notice beauty everywhere. And it just makes life a little bit better.
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