It’s a week since I brought home my bouquet of ranunculus flowers. Today they are looking pretty faded and sad, but for days they were bright little beacons of beauty. Each time I walked by them I felt like smiling. Every so often I simply stopped and gazed at them. Once in a while I saw something I hadn’t seen before. At those times I set my camera (mounted on a tripod) closer, fiddled a bit to get things just right, and snapped another photograph.
Feeling Gratitude and Wonder
I’m not trying to do something new or creative when I photograph flowers. It’s enough for me to simply see their beauty, record it, and share it. Perhaps I hope that others will slow down and spend more time appreciating simple gifts and feeling wonder for our world. Paying this kind of attention to ordinary beauty can be life-changing and healing.
Gratitude and wonder are the roots of joy
And joy is the fizzy juice of life that makes everything better. Paradoxically, even in the midst of sorrow, glimpses of joy are available to all of us through the practice of gratitude and wonder.
May you walk in beauty (and be filled with gratitude, wonder, and joy).
For more on gratitude and wonder, see this old post of mine titled Gratitude for Small Miracles.
Or check out this article on Why Scientists say experiencing awe can help you live your best life.
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