Yes, I know. It's been way too long since I've written. I've opened up my own little Gallery and Gift shop, a couple months back and perhaps that has taken just a bit of my time and its summer, and that alone throws a million more things out there to see and do.
Can you believe time though? I don't know about you, but this year has been the fastest year ever. Not sure how August is halfway through already but here we are. We waited what seemed like forever for summer and now the days are already getting noticeably shorter. There is not as much early morning bird song and many flowers in the garden have completed their summer display and are dropping their petals.
And my boys...wow.
My boys are now twelve and five. It kind of freaks me out to see how fast time is really flying. Faster than I can keep up with. That's for sure...
No matter how busy our days may get or how many things on the to do list, I intentionally make pockets of time to spend with my boys, for they are just growing up way too fast. Right before my eyes, really.
One thing we have always done a few times a week in the early morning is walk together. I've been doing this since Dylan was a baby. Now no more strollers as they either walk along or take their bike or scooter as we wind through our beautiful streets. It's a quiet time just my boys and I that I deeply, deeply cherish.
One day, a little over a month back, there was something I noticed.
There are a ton of massive, old trees around here and over the years we have found some of our favorites. Some Maples, many Oaks and plenty of Catalpa Trees as well. There is one Catalpa tree in particular we walk under, and we have always cherished her frilly white flowers.
One day as we walked under the Catalpa's massive branches, I noticed her white flowers laying all over the ground.
It came as a sudden shock to me.
Why such a shock? Because how did I miss the flowers up on the tree?
How did I not notice?
Don't I write about the importance of noticing????
Isn't my art centered around the importance of noticing?
Was it perhaps because my mind was somewhere else while walking along the quiet path the weeks prior?
It must have been. I must have not been fully there...
I must have been looking down...
Ok, so I missed the flowers on the tree. (There were actually many still in bloom at the time)
What's the point of me sharing this little story with you?
My point is, we get so darn wrapped up in our daily tasks, even when we do make time, we might not be fully in that moment. (come on, you know what I mean). Our mind may drift off to the future of all we need to or want to do, or get lost back in the past, maybe even 20 years back.
The truth is, the past is over, and the future doesn't even exist yet, so all we have is now, here in this moment. This is life now. What we focus on matters. Being fully present matters. We may know this but that doesn't mean it's easy to just stay in the present moment.
It's a practice.
It's an art really.
A training of the mind.
Crafting the moments of your life through awareness and thought. Being aware to the beauty and magic that lies all around. If we let our mind drift off, we miss it. If we focus on things past or things yet to come, we miss the moment now.
If we don't look up, we miss it.
As I always said, nature is our greatest teacher and once again, she did not fail. Thank you to that Catalpa tree for the reminder. (Next year I'm going to catch you for sure)! Not just for the beautiful blooms, but for the truth there is beauty all around that brings instant calm and peace of mind to the moment...just by noticing.
I'm curious, what has shocked you this summer that you suddenly saw and wondered 'when the heck did that happen'?
Until next time...
