Simple Beauty

Do you ever stop to notice

the beauty of our everyday world?

Like how the wintry field provides us

with a white blanket of crystal grass.

How the orange sun hidden behind painted clouds

leaves streaks of pastel color as it floats up.

Or the icicle looking down at the ground

as it cries tears of watery shame in the heat?

Sometimes we get so caught up in the rush of our lives

that we forget about our surroundings.

We might pass a blooming flower on a sidewalk

or ignore a singing bird outside a window.

Simple things like these are often forgotten

as they fade into the normal.

They are forgotten as we ourselves fade into the normal

the hurry of work and responsibility.

But if you stop what you’re doing,

stop thinking for just a moment,

and see the world around you with open eyes

and ears

and minds

and hearts,

then you’re sure to capture the everyday beauty of our world.

You’re sure to catch the simplest beauty,

the kind that never fades.

Do you do anything like noticing the little things in nature as a way of taking a break? What do you do to prevent feeling overwhelmed by work and responsibilities?