Oh My God! The temperature climbed to 77 degrees in Dallas today. That’s not an unusual temperature for north central Texas during the spring and summer months, but it’s still winter according to the calendar.
The day took my breath away when I stepped outside. A few high clouds floated by overhead as the sun beamed down and chased away the chill that the morning typically brings. It was the kind of day that makes you want to play hooky from work and find something to do outside, so that you can take advantage of the perfect weather. I didn’t. I went into the office, but I will admit that thoughts of me sitting by the pool with sunglasses and a good book repeatedly invaded my mind.
In a world where we are connected 24/7 and receive a never ending stream of information about breakthroughs and major events, a warm sunny day in Dallas in February may not seem like anything worth taking note of. For some of us it may not have enough wow factor to capture our attention. I have been there. In that place where I needed the ‘incredible’ to make me pause.
A few years ago I probably would have been in such hot pursuit of whatever was on my calendar for that day that I would have failed to fully appreciate the splendor of a day like today. But thank God that most of us wise up at some point. I learned that if we only focus on the so-called big things in life, we spend much of our life bored, discontented and waiting for the next big thing.
There absolutely is a time and place to celebrate the spectacular, but if we can appreciate the simple things, the extraordinary things seem even more special. We may even realize that the simple things are sometimes the most extraordinary things.
Do you notice the simple things? Do you recognize the blessing in a beautiful day or the gift of the presence of people in your life who always seem to be there and love you unconditionally? If the answer to these questions is no, perhaps it’s time for you to slow down, disconnect for a moment and take a look around you at the things that are simple but priceless.
“It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary.” – Paulo Coelho
Blessings.
See. Live. Enjoy.
