The 6am alarm announced it was Monday morning already, but it was a struggle to convince my sleepy eyes to comply with necessity and open to begin the day. The world outside was still dark, the air inside was cold, and my body was pleading with me to stay in bed. Through clumsy, reluctant steps and some meagre willpower, I showered, dressed, and tried to ready my mind for the day ahead. I was already running late and that horrible feeling of being a step behind from the get-go was rising uncomfortably.
Hurrying outside, I whacked my elbow on the doorframe – of course I did because it was that kind of a morning. My gloves were little protection from the joyless task of scraping the hard ice from the windscreen in a numbing -5 degrees temperature of an English January.
But then I looked up… and saw that the world around me was breathtakingly beautiful. The rising sun was a glowing orange circle backlighting the silhouettes of the winter trees. The branches, the pavements, the gateposts were all glistening in the morning light and the world was so peaceful and calm. My bustle and hurry dissolved to balance with my surroundings, and I remembered my place as an important, but too often oblivious inhabitant of this remarkable place we call Earth.
Amid the bustle and noise, amid the hurry and worry, stop to look around and you will certainly find something beautiful to see. Let it in; it belongs to you.
