As a kid, I used to trip and fall at least twice a week. I was always looking around at everything in my environment as I walked or ran, so that I usually did not see the bumps in the pavement or the curbs in the street. Each time I fell, my mother reminded me to take care to watch where I walked, which I translated to mean, “look at the ground so you don’t trip.” So I started watching the ground.
Unfortunately, this behavior has kept me from noticing my environment much of the time. My partner jokes that she is able to “hide” my birthday and Christmas gifts in plain sight, where I am sure to not notice them until she points them out. Or we’ll be driving down the street and I will say, “Look at that new building! When did that go up?” and she will reply, “Babe, it’s been there for two years.”
So yesterday, while I was walking my dog, Bella, I was doing the usual eyes-to-the-ground routine, when we came upon this beautiful blanket of petals that covered the sidewalk. They were soft and curved, and looked like big, velvety, pink and white Fritos. I looked up and saw then the tulip tree–or at least that’s what I called it–that had shed them. Its branches extended far across the sidewalk, and reached down toward the ground, so that it felt as though I was in a tunnel of tulip petals. I felt like a child who has just discovered a secret fort, delighting in the magical experience of believing it was created just for me. I was filled with wonder.
I stood there until Bella grew restless. As we continued our walk, I thought about the beautiful things that the Universe places in our paths each day. I composed a list in my mind of the things I had seen-without-really-seeing just that morning: the early morning sun; Bella’s clear, brown eyes; my dachshunds snuggled next to me in the bed; my partner’s smile; the bright red cardinals that sat in the bush outside our kitchen window. All of them gifts from God, small reminders of all there is to appreciate in our simple, daily lives.
Take a look around you today and notice the gifts that the Universe places in your path. Then see if you can find your childlike delight, and bask in the wonders of this human existence.
