I consider myself absolutely blessed to have been completely overwhelmed & left speechless by beauty many times in my life. Frolicking about the untouched mountains of Alaska, writing lakeside in Montana, immersed in the Pacific’s surf in Costa Rica, sitting with a few friends in a humid apartment in Guatemala, or walking among thousands of strangers in a bustling street fair in Buenos Aires … All of these experiences have romanced me & have made me a believer in the true loveliness of this life.

These places all had one thing in common. They drew me out of my ordinary. They inspired me. They forced me to look around, to breathe, to drink it in, to focus on embracing the moment, knowing, from experience, that sometimes the moments of presence in the present can be fleeting.

Recently, my work schedule has dictated a much busier life for me than I usually deem necessary or appropriate & I’ve found myself reflecting to the past to find these moments of inspiration & presence of mind, convinced of their absence in my present.

But then last weekend, while working out on beautiful Lopez Island, as I was walking pointedly from one point to another, from one thing to the next, busy, busy, busy, I stopped.

I looked around. Took a deep breath. And suddenly found myself.

Present.

& once again a believer in the beauty that this life constantly holds, if I’m willing to look up.

Happy Friday.

L.