Have you ever looked at something ordinary–something you’ve glanced at hundreds or thousands of times–and suddenly seen it as extraordinary? It’s almost as if I’ve just landed on this planet from some far-away galaxy and I see something as common as the trunk of a tree–in this case it’s a crape myrtle tree–and I think, “How lovely!” I understand for a moment just how miraculous it is to be alive. My friend Jose would say, abandoning himself to the moment, “Que bueno!”

If it’s happened to you, let it happen again today, maybe even right now.  If it’s never happened to you, hold still, take a deep breath, and look at something or someone familiar, as though you’re looking for the very first time.  Stay with the experience for a few minutes.  Enjoy.

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It’s been beastly hot around here, oppressively hot.  But I got myself out this evening to hear the somewhat hokey pick-up band doing their summer pops concert on the lawn of the local high school anyhow.  An occasional squeak from a clarinet, flutes sounding a bit timid, but then a trumpeter floats  his solo out on the evening air like magic,  and together they capture the spirit of the music and sweep you into it.  A young father and his two little sons lie on the grass in easy affection.  Dogs rest contentedly next to their contented owners. Occasionally a child’s voice rises from the edge of the crowd. Fireflies make you forgive the day’s heat, and a breeze brings universal mercy. The simple things. The simple beauties. You come away feeling younger, happy to be alive this summer evening.

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