Ordinary Moments, Bumpy Times

Sometimes for me it's easy to get caught up in how bumpy things are. How loss is so powerful, how things go wrong, how people aren't who I think they are (or should be).

Mindfulness has been a great friend to me in these times. It's the friend that whispers in my ear to look inside for what else is present: gratitude, optimism, amazement.

And it's the friend that reminds me to look up: at the trees, the red-tailed hawk who glides by my window, the people I love. 

What is mindfulness if not those two reminders: to look in, and see everything; and to look up, and see everyone?