Colorful trees by a pond in the neighborhood

This morning I went for a walk in the neighborhood with my camera. Even though I’ve walked these paths countless times, each time I walk them I experience and see new beauty in ordinary things.

“What you encounter, recognize or discover depends to a large degree on the quality of your approach. Many of the ancient cultures practiced careful rituals of approach. An encounter of depth and spirit was preceded by careful preparation.

When we approach with reverence, great things decide to approach us. Our real life comes to the surface and its light awakens the concealed beauty in things. When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us. The rushed heart and arrogant mind lack the gentleness and patience to enter that embrace.”
― John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

This time of year the fall colors and fallen leaves are bright spots. Squirrels were busily storing food for winter, honking geese flying overhead, and crows creating a cacophony of cawing. Leaves floated down from tree branches and sometimes whirled around me. I felt the warmth of the sun on my back and the breeze in my face.

Leaves on the ground were covered with dew. Late blooming flowers created a contrast to the dying leaves all around them. The variety of leaf colors and shapes was extraordinary. Yellowing hosta leaves looked totally different to my eye.

“The ancient rhythms of the earth have insinuated themselves into the rhythms of the human heart. The earth is not outside us; it is within: the clay from where the tree of the body grows.”
― John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

Everywhere I look there is beauty, even on this worn old path, that I’ve traveled so many times before. The light on the leaves, the sounds of leaves rustling beneath my feet, the felt sense of moving my body all create a sense of reverence in me.

Gratitude

Oneness

Grace

Gifts of the Ordinary

The biggest gift that I keep feeling endless gratitude for, is my body feeling good as I walk! Feeling good walking day after day after day is a new experience for me this fall, one for which I never tire of giving thanks. I’m not exactly running up and down stairs now, but I am taking them at a speed that I never thought to see myself doing again. What a great thing to have knees, hips and back that feel good!

Last weekend after being on my feet since before dawn with lots of hiking and photography all morning, I managed to hike up to Tofte Peak Friday afternoon, a feat that totally astonished my husband, who asked before we started up, “Are you SURE you want to do this?”

Having lived with years of chronic pain when walking, I noticed how good it felt today to stride along in a body that felt no pain. Each step filled me with energy. It felt so good to move!

What are the gifts of the ordinary in your life today? Can you slow down enough to notice and savor the ordinary beauty in your life?

All photos in this post were made during my morning walk in the neighborhood.

May you walk in beauty.