Savoring Each Moment

After two days of cloudy skies and rain, I welcomed the return of the sun today. As fall continues its journey towards winter I am

Savoring Each Moment

of fall’s beauty.

This afternoon I went to Fish Lake Regional Park for a hike. There are lots of oaks, maples, and birch trees along the path that skirts the edge of Fish Lake. Even though the rain from yesterday had not completely dried up, it smelled like fall. You know, it was that dry leaves scent that fills your senses when walking in the woods in the fall.

The weather forecast for next week looks colder with highs in the forties and lows in the thirties, perhaps even dipping into the twenties. Brrr…I think it will begin to feel like November as it arrives next week. It’s funny how cold twenty degrees seems right now, when that same temperature will feel positively balmy in mid-January.

Pale sunlight,

pale the wall.

Love moves away.

The light changes.

I need more grace

than I thought.

   — Rumi (Coleman Barks translation)

Ways of Savoring

As fall turns the page to winter, I know that I will need to work harder to stay in an attitude of appreciation and gratitude. Winter is my least favorite season of the year and here in Minnesota it can seem long and desolate. Though I mourn the end of the growing season I also look for ways to savor the present moment no matter what it brings.

Things that help me thrive during the long winters here include:

• Practicing gratitude — each day I look for beauty, and notice what is good in my life. I thank my body for all it does each day and give thanks for ordinary things like hot and cold running water, a comfortable bed to sleep in, and plenty to eat.
• Spending time in nature — even in the depths of winter, I find that getting out in nature for walks regularly lifts my spirits
• Looking for ordinary miracles — there are miracles all around us if you look for them. They fill me with wonder and gratitude. And experiencing wonder always lifts my spirits.
• Creating regularly — human beings are creative beings and makers. Whatever you love to create, whether it’s something ordinary like creating delicious healthy meals for your family or it’s something like painting or sculpting, exercising your creativity lifts your spirits.
• Reading — books are magical passports to other worlds. They can entertain, inspire, and educate you.

“Everything in the universe is calling you to claim your creative life.”

    — Nancy Hills, The Artist’s Journey: Trust, Play, Love, Paint

I hope you find time for savoring each moment this weekend.

May you walk in beauty.