Most mornings, I take about 10 minutes to listen to a guided meditation from the app, Calm. It provides a good path each day to slow down, to breathe deeply, and often a good reminder about some way to be more mindful each day. Friday morning, there was a reminder about finding the unique beauty of everyday moments including this quote.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
At one point, I looked back from where we were walking and I saw this.
In one sense, it is a pretty ordinary moment. Summer green trees, a bench, blue sky mottled with clouds, and yellow flowers in bloom. But there was something about it at that moment that made me stop. Maybe it was all the different parts together. Maybe it was the depth of color and vibrancy. Maybe it was that my imagination had been piqued by the meditation. Regardless, I felt peace, joy, wonder, and gratitude at that moment.
Sometime I wonder, when Jesus talked about “consider the lillies”, (Matthew 5:28) whether he was saying that to help people find ways to get outside of their worries and focus on the simple beauty of the lillies. Normally, people read that verse implying that we should be more like the lillies of the field and not worry as much. Maybe it was to simply get our hearts centered somewhere else. For me...it was this moment - a path, a bench, green trees and grass, and a blue sky mottled with clouds.