Last week, I took several opportunities to step out back very early in the morning to take in the stillness and the silence. While enjoying my cup of coffee, I very quietly observed a rabbit, who lives under the porch, nibbling on some greens, the squirrels chasing each other up and down the trees, and the many species of birds flitting through the trees. As the weather warms up even more, I’m sure I’ll be doing it more often. Those are the moments that make me go, Ahhh… Like walking along the early morning beach at low tide, hugs from my grandsons, drinking in a beautiful field of flowers, stepping under a shower after a strenuous workout, listening to the rain fall, the feel of the warm sun on my face, a trip to the hair salon (something about having someone work on my hair puts me into a trance : ), sitting down to a beautifully prepared meal, snuggling up under a warm blanket, the way my body melts into my yoga mat after a class, sitting back with a good book, staring at a full moon, the first sip of my morning coffee – all of these things and more, make me stop, take a deep breath, and soften up a bit.
These may all seem like little things, but to me, they are the big things because they bring me back down to Earth and remind me that life is good. These are the things that allow me to remain peaceful even in the chaos. Maybe they do this, because in some ways, they are their own form of chaos that attenuate the things or events our minds normally perceive as chaos. As still and as silent as the early morning in the backyard seemed, I couldn’t even count the number of bird songs being sung simultaneously. Yet that uncoordinated melody brought tranquility to my soul. The roar of the waves on an empty beach not only penetrates my ears but I can feel it resonate in my chest – yet, as powerful as it is – the energy is somehow soothing. A spray of hot water on a body charged from a workout, the bright light of the moon on a dark sky, little energetic arms wrapped around my neck, a field of sunflowers blowing precariously in the breeze, the vision and aroma of a good meal, and the black words on a white page – all, in some way, create their own forms of chaos. If we can find peace and tranquility in the midst of them, though, then we have a better chance of facing the turmoil over which we have no control or no choice but to experience.
When it comes down to it, life is energy combined into an infinite number of configurations. And it’s this energy that will ultimately contribute to our happiness, or not. Everyday, in pursuit of our objectives, we pass by things, moments, and little jewels of chaos that are worthy of our appreciation, and in fact, are there for that very reason. Yet we often either don’t recognize them for what they are or simply miss them altogether. I believe now, more than ever, that the more of these often-inconspicuous bundles of energy we can discover that make us go Ahhh, the happier we will be because the big things (I mean, little things) that bring us joy, are very few and far between, yet the little things (meaning the BIG things) that have the power to make us happy are presented to us at every moment of everyday. Peace…
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