Step Seven to an Extraordinary Life: Admire Small Miracles
I guess my husband is going to find out about this now. (Hi, Honey!) A few days ago I’m out running errands during a busy time of day, look left to turn right, do the turning, and then hear a horn blast.
And a jolt from behind.
Uuuuggggh.
How and why I didn’t see the little red pickup truck has me shaken even now. And my mistake really rattled the other driver. Fortunately, that’s the worst part of our encounter as neither of our vehicles was damaged.
Believe me, I will admire that small miracle for weeks to come.
When I saw this month’s task toward living an extraordinary life was admire small miracles I was really excited. Our fast-paced world is filled with small but amazing gifts and I couldn’t wait to seek out those cool little surprises. Think of treats as the stocking stuffers to the beautifully-wrapped boxes under the Christmas tree. Sometimes big things come in small packages. (As long as you’re reading, honey, I do love me a pretty necklace…)
The “silver lining.” (Oh, make that a pretty silver necklace!) Or “stopping to smell the roses.” (Roses are good, too…) However you choose to approach finding those little gems (ok, I’ll stop with the gift hints here…) do take the time to look. Seeking out and admiring the best in even the toughest of days can ease your mind, soften your heart, and connect you with this incredible world we live in.
And connect you with others. The other morning, at dawn, I was driving to my favorite yoga class. On the way, I saw two young bucks grazing, their racks in the softest of velvet. At the end of class, my friend and instructor asked if anyone saw the deer that morning. Of course I piped up. To have that common experience was a sweet, unexpected ending to an already shared restorative, meditative session.
As another example, my son and I were returning home after a lunch in town and the menacing clouds of an afternoon rain storm were rolling in. Lightning electrified the air. The low hills were in shadow but between them and the thunderheads was a line of puffy white, sun-drenched cumulus. The scene was spectacular and as we drove through the ranch land even my oft-indifferent son was impressed.
The major miracle here was more rain for our parched land. The small one? My adolescent son’s rare engagement and that I got to be a part of it.
Take the time to admire small miracles and see how you feel. You can’t go wrong. Especially when those little moments are shared with another. The extraordinary life is yours when reveling in the small no matter the quality of the big.
