Start the Day!

  Even though it seems that the media fills our heads with bad news, there are actually things out there that are amazing.  You just never hear of good things.  I, for one, decided long ago that instead of always looking toward the negative side of things, I would seek out the happy. Since that time, I feel freer and have a much better outlook on life. Things do not worry me near as much.  Perhaps this is merely because as I age, I find that fretting over useless things is just that...useless.  I make it a point to start my day with a thing of beauty and then count the dozens (if not hundreds) of points of beauty, acts of kindness or pure old amazing things that fill the rest of the day. We all have a tendency to become bogged down in our everyday lives and neglect to really "see" what is around us. The world is full of things that we overlook. I have found that if you start seeking, you will find that blessings are abundant.  

  My first image of the day was quite by accident.  Mark was heading out fishing before daybreak and asked if I wanted to walk to the pier with him.  The sun had not even started to brighten the eastern sky so I declined.  I had no desire to walk back up that hill in total darkness. The coyotes have been frequenting the yard and since Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog, is aging beyond a good tussle, I have become a bit leery.  I grabbed another cup of coffee and sat near the window.  It was not long before I noticed the horizon beginning to redden.  Oh, my!  It was going to be a gorgeous sunrise.  Ok!  That did it!  I was out the door in a heartbeat and was hustling down the board path to the pier.  Ms. Ez could barely keep up with me!  

  I was right!  Taking a deep breath, I watched in amazement as the morning sky blazed with a thousand different shades of red.  Wow! Yep, here was my point of beauty to start the day!  I just knew that today was going to be wonderful!  

  This evening as I am sitting here, I figure that I must have found nigh on a hundred things that were equally awe inspiring as the sunrise. Most of those were not nearly as photogenic as the sunrise but they were all things that make me thankful.  Things like that first cup of coffee, the hummingbird outside the window, a pail of bell peppers picked from the garden, a walk with the old dog, fresh fish for lunch, a sweet husband who does not mind running to the store for groceries and then picks up a store-bought pie as a treat, chatting with my daughter, the small garter snake in the marsh, dried leaves that crunch with each step, fresh cleaned laundry and so many things that would probably bore most folks.  I am happy.  I know these are all blessings.  I keep counting.