Little Gems in Life

Real life gets in the way of living, being happy, enjoying the journey, staying in the moment.  We get overwhelmed with current events in our lives, which at times seem to drag us down.  But if we are watchful, we stumble upon little gems in our lives that, at that moment, surprise us and make us very happy. 

While in Washington, DC for a meeting on July 3 one year, I realized that fighting the crowds to hear the concert on the lawn at the Capitol Building was just too much to deal with, and I was very disappointed to miss this big event.  So I headed to the national mall just to walk around, enjoy the buildings,and see the sights and preparations for 4th of July the next night.  As I walked up towards the Capitol, I heard wonderful music!  I had stumbled upon one of those gems in life!  The orchestra was practicing for their concert so I was able to sit down and enjoy this impromptu performance! 

Two weeks ago, I was invited to a Fall Tea at a local Catholic church, which would be held in their old gym/school lunchroom.  I thought I would just go to be with my dear friends.  Behold!  When I walked into that gymnasium, I was filled with awe!  There were haystacks decorated with lights, pumpkins, fall characters, and garlands!  Each table was dressed up by its sponsor in their finest place settings, silverware, glassware, and each had its own sparkling, colorful table decoration for fall!  Along the walls were straw bales, scarecrows, lights, and pumpkins which were going to be raffled off to some lucky (not me) winners for the outside of their homes, to greet their holiday visitors!  I was absolutely stunned by all this sparkle, color, and energy put forth into these gorgeous decorations.  Another gem in life!

We recently had a barn stone porch created on the west side of our house, which has a small view of Lake Erie.  One of our joys is to sit out there in the evening, even now in the fall season, with a glass of wine, watching the deer come out of the woods to play in the field across the street, sometimes wandering right past us as we sit very still.  Gem!

Kayaking at the Mendenhall Glacier on our 40th anniversary trip to Alaska. Getting a free watercolor set, including brushes, on this cruise and then challenging ourselves to try something entirely foreign to us...painting!  Having an orca mother and baby breach right by our boat on a whale watch. Having our balcony door open all night, listening to the waves and having the motion of the boat rock us to sleep. Gem!

After having green trees all summer, now having them burst into a multitude of shades of fall colors, giving us this palette of reds, oranges, yellows before we go into winter hibernation. I want to gather all those colorful leaves and hold them tight until spring comes again.  Now I understand the lure of pressing leaves in books, to save those colorful gems!

Be open to experiencing these little gems in your life.  Be aware that they could be anywhere, appear at any time.  Embrace the opportunity to say to yourself, "At this very moment, in this time and space, I am happy."