Beautiful Reflection

In order to root myself in the present this fall, I would stop off at a nearby creek to meditate after middle-school drop-off. In the sunny autumn, I’d sit on a rock kissed by the sun with my toes in deliciously cold water. Meditations first colored by an abundance of green, followed by gorgeous golds, reds, and yellows, and now with barren wood and limbs to dot the winter landscape. Now, bundled up in coats with my shoes decidedly on, the barren trees looked bleak and brown and uninspiring.

At times, I can feel the same way about my life, parts of it feel dreary and uninspired, the repetitive shuttling, laundry, bills, food preparation, house reorganization and tidying. All tasks that I’m grateful to have done, but can drag at times in the doing. So I sat, for 10 minutes gazing at formerly inspiring trees, feeling uninspired, and then I noticed the beautiful reflection of the trees on the smooth glassy water. Gorgeous, and visible only because of their barrenness and the smoothness of the winter water.

Like my life, when I’m staring at and/or completing the mundane tasks, I don’t see the full picture, only what is right in front of me. Upon reflection, however, I can see the beauty of my life in the everyday, the joy of children to love, and therefore food and laundry to prepare, the laughter of two friends on the way home from drama practice breaking the solitary of pandemic school closures, the joy I feel walking into a clean kitchen (even if I was the one who tidied it!).

Even in the everyday, we can find a beautiful reflection.

What brought you joy today?

Would you time for dedicated reflection and visioning for the new year? Sign up for the Vision Board Workshop on January 9—In Studio or Livestream!