Stop, Look and Listen.

 

 

As the alarm clock chimed on Wednesday morning I lay in my bed, opened my eyes and drifted into my senses.  Immediately I was aware of all that was lacking.  There was no sunlight streaming through the windows and the sounds from my feathered friends were absent.  It was 5:45 am and all was quiet, all was still.  As much as I fought it, the thought that crossed my mind was confirmed, when I open the sliding glass door and the chilly air entered the room and produced goose bumps on my skin. Fall is coming; summer is nearing its end.

  How did this happen so quickly?  It seemed as if it was just yesterday morning when I would awake to the bright sun light streaming through my bedroom curtains and I would be serenaded by the sweet tones of the robins that had set up home in the rafters of my deck.  I miss my morning songs and sunlight. Very soon the inpatients and petunias will be replaced by the aster and the mums.  Before you know it the green leaves will turn various shades of red, amber and gold.  My shorts and sandals will be replaced by sweatpants and sneakers. A sweatshirt will be my constant companion.   Each year summer seems like a fleeting journey, and as the years progress my dance with the summertime moves faster and faster. Just another reminder to acknowledge each day for all it provides. The challenges, lessons and peaceful moments, savor them.

  As noon approached I was sitting behind my desk answering calls, solving problems and pushing papers.  I took a moment and gazed up and looked beyond my computer screen, calculator and piles of work.  The wall of windows in my office beckoned me to them.  I peered out.  The sky was a deep clear blue.  The grass and trees richly green. I was reminded of the crispness of the morning.  I thought, “This is a wonderful day for a lunchtime walk.”  I keep a pair of sneakers in the car just for such an occasion.

  My mind told me I should work through my lunch and fulfill my obligations; my heart was singing a different song.  So out I went, I changed my shoes from my high heeled sandals to sneakers and headed up the hill beyond the office.  I have traveled this route so many times.  It is my dear friend during the fall, winter and spring months.  The summer is too hot to walk.  Well, actually I would walk in the summer if I did not have to return to the office.  Sweat, sunburn and matted hair do not make a great impression in the business community!

  I made my way to the top of the hill and continued along the straight away.  I was looking for photo opportunities as I am still breaking in my new phone/camera. I came across a heart within a piece of cement.

  However, I was drawn to the opposite side of the road so I crossed over.  As I walked along the trees, rag weed and brilliant purple flowers my mind began to empty and my heart began to fill.  I was one within the moment.  It was quiet, it was peaceful and it was reverent.  The sun was shining through the trees, the skies were clear and blue and my breaths were in sync with each step I took. What was awaiting me in my office no longer mattered.  Isn’t wonderful when all that is important comes into perspective within an instant?

 

  There were four Monarch butterflies moving about.  I stood silently still and watched.  They floated from bud to bud.  Each would land for a moment, rest, and move on.  I snapped a few pictures to record in my memory bank.

  As I walked a little further and the butterflies followed me.  I continued to watch them weave in and out of each reed and each flower.  They instinctively knew where they wanted to land.  They gathered all that they required from a spot and moved on.  I thought, much like each step a human takes.  We are guided to where we are to be, whether we realize it or not, and gather all that we need to nourish us……and move on.

 My gaze turned to a winged friend that landed in front of me.  Was it a butterfly, or a moth? What it was did not matter. What it did mattered.  Each flew into my day, into this moment with grace and purpose.  Doesn’t each and every move that we make hold a purpose? A pure reminder that the answer is yes, we just have to recognize and acknowledge it.  Each decision we make, each direction we turn to makes a difference.

  As I stood silent and still in that spot I felt as if there was no place else on this earth I was to be. The sun warmed my skin, but more importantly my soul.  And as it did I watched as a bumble bee gathered her pollen which is her life line and I thought…..

 

  …..there is no guarantee of a tomorrow, or for that matter another breath….

  …..there is so much beauty around us we just have to open our eyes to it…….

  ..… be grateful all that you have, it will sustain you…….

  …..each moment is a blessing….embrace it.

  ….there are no accidents.  Everything happens for a reason….hold on.

  …..keep connections alive.  All that you give will be returned to you in the moment you need it.

  …..smile; don’t be afraid to share your soul with the world we are all waiting to embrace it.    

   …….and stop, look and listen to each message that is around you.

   I continued on my walk. As I rounded the corner and moved up the hill I was now within a construction site.  I turned around and looked beyond the Townhouses that were being built with the confines of my quiet, lunchtime walk sanctuary.  And as I committed my last thought to memory above a new roof it appeared.   There it was a reminder from the Universe….a puffy white heart in the sky against a deep blue backdrop…Always remember take each step and to do all things with love……