Wednesday, June 9, 2010

one leaf


It seems that the things in life that matter most are the simple things. Recently I have begun to take a very critical eye of the possessions I am willing to hold onto for dear life. Suddenly things don’t seem to mean all that much to me. I used to blame my packratness on being sentimental. I don’t think that is fair, I think to be brutally honest it has more to do with my insecurities or need to validate. The older I get though, the more I understand that keeping up with the Jones (even though I fooled myself into thinking that I would NEVER do that) is slowly killing me. So it’s that concept that makes me want to take a new turn.

The things I treasure most have always been surrounded in simplicity. I remember a few years ago taking hundreds of pictures while hiking through a park with my husband on a crisp autumn morning. My prize for that day was a photo of a red leaf decorated with diamonds of ice crystals lying on the beach, glistening in the sun. That single image was the gift of the day- it culminated the hours we spent in the park, it was the glory of the hundreds of photos I had taken. That single simple leaf was a gift of beauty.

This lesson, I apparently need to keep relearning that for me, and I’d suggest for most of us, it is about that solitary leaf, NOT the entire forest. It is the deeper meaning, not the keeping so busy or having so many things that we completely miss that gift.

So again- today, my goal is to slow down- and maybe get rid of the “stuff” that is preventing me from embracing how blessed I am- breathe and find the simplicity.