Miniature Joys of Spring: The Out of Doors

I love this time of the year because first of all this area turns emerald. For a month or two it feels like I live somewhere else - not dry chaparral filled southern California. One of my favorite vistas is driving over the hill towards the end of Alicia Pkwy and then seeing the blueish hues of the mountains that rise out of the sea of all shades of green extending up into the foothills. On the perfect day there will be white and gray puffy clouds contrasting the bright blue sky or maybe a little more mysteriously hovering along the tops of the mountains.

Yesterday was one of those perfect days. It had rained that morning which always makes the greens more vibrant and everything has that fresh look and smell. Hannah and I went on a walk through the flower field behind our house. It was so gorgeous I had to take a picture.

For those that know me, they know I tend to be oblivious at times. I can totally miss something that is right in front of my face. I just don't notice. Oddly enough though, I will spot wildflowers almost anywhere. On this walk, I was noticing all the tiny little flowers that pop up in the grasses. Little yellow, little purple, and even some little salmon colored flowers. They are really quite miniature... not something normally I would ever notice. Why did I notice it? It's all in what's important - I know I have selective vision. I don't even know I'm doing it. I love flowers though, I love beautiful scenery so I focus on it.

It made me start to think about how true that is in life though - it all has to do with what is important to us and that for which we are looking. When we want to see the beauty in things, it doesn't matter how small it is, we can find it. When we want to see the negative, it doesn't matter - we find it. If we dwell on the negative, we tend to miss the positive because it's all in what we are focusing on. At work we were talking about that with our students. We have to work to see the positives, and often I forget to do this. I need to be better at looking for that miniature hidden little bud that is waiting there for me to notice.

You know, it's like the old cliche - "is the cup half empty or half full?" Personally, I know life looks a whole lot better when I'm noticing those pretty little flowers, easy to miss in the myriad of grass blades growing up around it, but a miniature joy when I find them! I think it can be good sometimes to have selective vision - select the beauty and ignore the negative! Not that we want to ignore reality or miss the problems which need solutions, but sometimes I think we forget to see the bright side and just get so bogged down in life that it sucks out anything beautiful and those are little gifts from God we don't want to miss!