m u s i n g s || we are surrounded by beauty

sometimes there are just those mornings when the rain is pouring down outside, you have several math assignments to do, and life looks bleak.  But then in the afternoon, the sun peaks out from behind the clouds, the birds start chirping, the math is done, and it suddenly feels oh so good to be alive.

Today was one of those days. The late afternoon was pure gloriousness.

It really hit me that it's actually May.  The cherry blossoms literally all came out overnight on Sunday.  now you can catch glimpses of shimmering white scattered throughout the woods.  

It's May.  May.  The month where real, lovely, beautiful SPRING dawns in its fullest on Michigan.  when the leaves are coming out and the trees blossoming.  when days of perfect weather come one after another like peals slipping off a string.  My favorite month.

The month of Our Lady.  May crownings.  birds' nests + wildflowers.  New life.  New hope. New awakening. 

I wander through the woods and see the tiny budding leaflets uncurling on the stems of a sturdy bush.  the star-shaped white flowers pushing up through the forest floor at my feet.  the stately pair of wood ducks paddling away across the rippling waters of the pond... the red of the maple buds in delicate sprays wherever I look.  the sweet chirping of the birds.  the fluttering white wings of a little butterfly going on an adventure.  the humming of a bumblebee nearby.  the warm sunshine on my face. 

There are some days when it's just a blessing to be alive. here. now. at this moment.

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"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament.  Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing."

|| Ralph Waldo Emerson ||

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It's so important to notice and appreciate the little things.  They're what help us get through the long days and come out on top.  ...the glistening dewdrop on a shining daffodil.  the letter from a dear friend full of ponderings on the deep themes of C.S. Lewis + the glories of Les Mis.  random acts of kindness.  laughing together with the family.  munching on cookies with my brothers.  snuggling the purring cat.  treasuring the beauty in the Psalms...   As Laura Ingalls Wilder said, "it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." 

It's so easy for me to forget to count my blessings, and just start comparing my life to everyone else's. (correction: often it's comparing to the bits and pieces of others' lives I see through social media.)  It seems like other people just live in these perfect bubbles - plenty of friends, look gorgeous in every picture, always doing fun things, surrounded by those who think they're awesome... 

the dangers of comparison. jealousy. envy.  it's a struggle sometimes. we've all been there.

And I know that no one's perfect.  We all have real, down-to-earth, imperfect lives even if it's not what we show to the world.  But sometimes it's hard to remember that.  And it's hard to realize how crazy blessed I actually am.  

I want to be REAL.  Original.  Honest.  But I also want my blog to be beautiful, and perfect.  (yes, perfectionist here.)  I like things done right.  I like to them look nice.  But it's so important to remember that underneath that nice exterior we show the world, there's also an interior.  And it's not always so perfect. Sometimes far from it.  

My life is no more beautiful than yours.  It's a matter of actually taking the time to look around us, to notice the beauty, and treasure the little things.  You can do that too.  We all can.