Wayside wonder

In good times and bad times... walk in a spirit of praise.

It had been a rough week.

Correction. It had been a rough bunch of weeks. Stress at home. Deadlines at work. Chaos on all sides.

What I needed was tranquility. But what I got was a car accident.

There are pills for pain. I'd perfected the ibuprofen-acetaminophen cocktail for relief from a prior accident. What I haven't been able to resolve is the brain fog and head-in-a-vice-grip sensation I've been experiencing lately.

Perhaps fresh air would help? So I leashed up my foo-foo dog and set out for a stroll, intent on breathing deeply and walking in a spirit of praise.

See, I've learned a few things in life. Here's one of them:

You don't get to control everything that happens to you, but you do get to choose how you respond.

I choose to praise.

I choose to laugh more often then cry.

I choose to look for beauty.

I choose a spirit of wonder.

I choose joy.

So as my little dog and I walked, I reveled in the early morning quiet.

I was grateful to live in the country. I thanked a bird for her song. I found beauty in dewdrops on roadside greenery. And I delighted in wayside wonders of flowers and spiderwebs.

I also praised the Author of them all. I get that not everyone shares my perspective. But for me, belief in a benevolent creator enhances my wonder and joy.

Whatever your belief, I urge you to stroll more often. Breathe deeply of fresh morning air. Look beyond your circumstance. And engage in some wayside wonder.

Photo by Wingchi Poon, CC BY-SA 3.0.