Stop, Look, & Listen

A squirrel races past the patio door, scurrying on its way to add another token to his winter larder. The cat in turn, races past, trying to get a closer view of this would be prey. Life. In its ordinariness. The pond outside has the first flimsy, fragile coating of ice. There is no snow on the ground...yet. The patio outside has been emptied of the glorious colors of summer...flowers, planters, a lounge chair, wind chimes, and hummingbird feeders...it lays barren, as soon the rest of the landscape around will be covered in the glitter of individual snowflakes, crowding together to make mounds of relentlessly cold snow.
If I look closely, I can see snow falling. Not the pretty, big, fluffy looking flakes, but the tiny, hard to see stuff that no one welcomes. What I do welcome about this time of year, is the comfort of familiar recipes. Soups. Stews. Roasts. Bread fresh from the oven, whose smell alone can warm a person just walking in from a bitterly cold foray.
These activities, and a host of others go on continuously, unseen, or maybe just unnoticed by those who are just too busy to stop, look, and listen. Those three adjectives apply not only to road crossing safety, they also apply to life, specifically to appreciating life. And truly, to appreciating your own life. Every breath we take is a gift. Each one signifies and affirms that we are alive.
Will it ruin my life if I don't notice the multi-colored squirrels, foraging for the fast approaching winter? No, it won't. But, every time I do stop to notice, I'm reminded of the intricacy of life. Of my part in this life. Of the glorious gift afforded me to be able to live this life. Too often, I take for granted the luxury of being able to come and go as I please, to work, to be on my computer, to text or talk to a friend or loved one on the phone, to cook, for myself or for others. All normal, average, run-of-the-mill types of things. Until I understand there are those who can't do any or even just some of these things. Illness, economic failure, lack of consideration by others....there's a myriad of reasons other can't.
So, I'm learning. To make time to show appreciation for the every day things I'd normally take for granted. I smile more, because I see more, and acknowledge more. You want to be a happy person? Appreciation is a key to happiness!