THE BEAUTY AROUND US

Warm temperatures mixed with brilliant sunshine make for the perfect spring day. Some are having a difficult time finding the warmer temperatures this year. And even we will be reaching near freezing tonight. 
And yet - 
As we go about our day, if we slow down just a little bit we can see the beauty all around us and count our blessings in what God has given us. 

This week I've been getting up at 3:30 to be to work at 5AM.  Not a time I'm used to being out and about. Yet, in taking it a bit slower, as there is no traffic to fight with, I was able to see things I never noticed. I enjoyed the quietness of the early morning. I looked at houses along the way with no lights on as they were still in dream land. I saw houses with just a dim light on as someone was up, but trying not to disturb the rest of those inside still sleeping. A few houses you could tell people were up as I could see TV's on as they watched the early morning news. 

Approaching the city the lights of businesses that stay on 24/7 seemed to shine brighter in the darkness of early morning. Rabbits and Raccoons scurried across the road in front of me as they escaped into the taller grasses on the other side. Parking lots were nearly empty of vehicles as were the roads I traveled. 

As dawn was waking up around me and the lights near houses illuminated the yards and the flower gardens I was cheered with the beauty of the colors we are so blessed with in nature. 

May we all be able to see the beauty around us. To enjoy the blessings God puts before us. We often look for the big blessings in the things we wish for and pray for while we seem to ignore what is before us if we just take time to notice. 

Til next time -- take life just a bit slower and see the beauty that is around you.

Phyllis  
 

 
   

SPRING - A TIME OF RENEWED JOY

SPRING

A TIME OF RENEWED JOY

 We are being blessed with a new beautiful spring where I live. 

Pastures and lawns that had been dormant and turning brown are not lush with green grasses.

 Spring flowers are growing and blooming.

Trees full of blooms and already developing leaves.

The birds are arriving and singing their sweet songs. They find their way to the trees and other places to build their nests to start new families.

It is a time of joy and smiles when we wake up early and watch the earth come to life.  A joy we felt was gone for good over the long winter is renewed in us. We find ourselves taking in deep breaths to inhale the beauty around us. The evenings give us time to go for walks or sit on the deck and watch the world unwind and settle in for the night.

We have now gone from the need to shovel snow to having to mow the grass.

We have gone from being stuck inside to being able to open the windows and let the fresh air inside.  From wearing layers and layers of clothes that make us feel trapped, to wearing lighter weight clothes in lighter colors that express the joy of spring. 

This is also how it can be in our lives. We may find that over time we get let down, we suffer disappointments, we deal with health issues, and we deal with life’s struggles.  And dealing with them during the cold winters always seems to affect us stronger. We try to be positive, in the darkness and cold of winter that doesn’t always work.

Springtime seems to allow us to open our hearts easier and to see the sunshine, enjoy the newness in our hearts and souls. We smile more, we enjoy life more.  We spend more time with friends and family. We spend more time outside with family and friends. 

Take a look around you and notice the positive aspects of life. Even during the rough times that life hands us, in Spring we find it easier to see the positive in all things.  Let us all put a smile on our faces and share our joy with others.  

Enjoy the newness that spring brings to us. Count your many blessings large and small. Your easy going smile that came to you as you count them may be the large blessing of someone who is going through a rough time.  

Til next time - 

Phyllis

QUIETNESS

St. John's River, FL

Our lives are busy. Far too often they are too busy, and we forget what it was like to stop, breath, and enjoy the absolute quiet that we need to allow into our lives. 

We have families. We have have jobs. We have activities. We have meetings. We have appointments. We have hourshold chores. We eat, sleep, watch TV, listen to the radio, watch videos. We work out. We garden. We even go on vacations. But, do we take time for doing nothing and have a quiet time?

Everyone who knows me knows a couple of my frequent comments. 
1) "Relax? What's that?"
2) Sleep is over rated."
You see, I'm with those who seldom do 'nothing'. If I stop for a while I tend to just fall asleep. And sleep is not the quiet time I am talking about here. 
 
We need to take the time to enjoy the quietness we can escape to in our minds. Taking time to just run from our busy and filled lives. We can find it in the early mornings as the world wakes around us. It can be as the sun sets and darkness quiets the world that surrounds us. We can even be in a crowded room and find it.  As in the phrase I used in one of my poems many years ago. "In a crowded room I stand alone..."

Quietness of our minds is found in many places. Those places came easy to us when we were kids. We loose that ease somewhere along the way as we age. 

It's that spare and seldom span of time when we get to sit and let the gentle breeze blow through our hair as birds sing, the sun drifts in and out of the clouds as they drift by and we are warmed by warmth of the sun. 

It's laying on a blanket or just the grass looking up at the stars trying to count them as we try to remember the names of the constellations. 

It's sitting by a window listening to the thunder and the rain off in the distance and seeing a rainbow arc to the earth. 

It's sitting on a rock in the woods and watching the ants working together to take care of each other. Or watching the spider build its web, and then rebuild it when the wind tears it apart. 

It's taking a moment of time to clear you mind of all your worries and stress. 
 
It's a time we seldom take. 

It's a time we need to take out of our busy lives to inhale a deep breath and refresh our souls. 

When do you take this time, you ask?  Anytime you can. Like many though we don't make time for it. We schedule everything we do every day of the week and can't imagine adding one more thing to the time we have. And yet, if we set aside this quiet time once a day, or at the minimum once a week we will benefit from the rewards.  


As I write this it is the weekend. Time to grab a fresh cup of coffee in your favorite mug, a cup of tea in your most fancy cup, or a drink of fresh water in a pretty glass and find your quiet place. The deck, the porch, the front room looking out the window, or in the middle of a crowded room. Turn off all the man made noise. Listen to your heart, listen to your breathing. Listen to the quiet. Take a deep breath. 

Quietness -- that time you allow yourself to enjoy just being!