Appreciation and miracles

This morning, walking on the road, I heard a small flock of geese intermittently making a ruckus of noise on the nearby pond.   Deciding to veer off the road, walking quietly toward the water, I hoped to spy them behind the stand of pine trees. But they must have heard my footsteps, as the geese sounds suddenly grew louder, and then I saw them - about 7 or 8 geese - lifting off, honking, flying in an unbalanced V formation, flapping off to some near destination lake or pond, I suppose. They arrive each evening and leave early in the morning. This was a small group that was late in leaving; I imagined them as the laggers, the ones wanting to savor a slow morning and not be in such a rush.

At any rate, a reminder to me of how important nature is to nourishing my spirit--my happiness and feeling of inner peace.  I am not alone, of course, as enjoying time in nature is wisely viewed as good medicine.  I do recommend it be done regularly! Whether a glimpse of a sunset, noticing the golden and auburn glow of November leaves on the trees, or watching a squirrel scramble up and down a tree, appreciation of nature can't help but bring us into a state of appreciation. And appreciation feels good, really good. As Albert Einstein said, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as everything is a miracle." 

And appreciation works miracles in relationships too.  Especially in your closest relationships - you know, the one where we can slip into treating each other, after awhile, like old shoes.  But cultivating the habit of appreciation brings good feelings AND rich rewards.  I made a vow to express to my sweetie twice each day my appreciation of something about him or something he did.  Funny, once I got into doing this, I started to notice all sorts of wonderful things! I didn't want to limit myself to two, because there was so much more there to appreciate.  And, I noticed the appreciations coming back to me, too  - a nice, unexpected gift.  So, here's to cultivating the habit of appreciation -- each day.