That View

I try every day to feel peaceful about something. It is said over and over again that we need just one moment during the day to appreciate something before we get on with the daily grind. Why only one moment? How is ‘just a moment’ effective when there are 24 hours in a day? It isn’t something I want to explore too much. I get it, I get caught up in the day-to-day chores and responsibilities and I, too, miss some amazing things because of it. Life is busy and one moment isn’t enough, but it is the way our world works. This did not cause me to search for things to appreciate but it did make me pause and look at what I already knew.

A number of years ago, I noticed one spot on the drive from a nearby city where I worked to my little hometown that always took my breath away. Each and every day, I would drive home from work and happily round the bend until the view was in front of me. Ever since then, I have paid close attention at that bend in the road. Luckily, it is a road I drive often as my parents still reside in the house I grew up in while I have since moved to a new town. Maybe the beauty comes from the promise of home, a memory of childhood, or a reminder of how lucky I am to have grown up in a place so sheltered by nature.

I am pleased that I now work in that same town as a teacher and so, I get to drive the road every day and see that view every morning as I sip from my thermos full of tea and think about what the day will hold.

The road bends to the right and, as I curve around it, over bumps and worn white lines, I look up to see the trees slowly revealing a cluster of mountain-tops, some close enough to look green, others a long line of blue like waves against the sky. Even on grey days it has a certain beauty to it. Perhaps most important is that, even at 70 miles per hour, I can still pause and smile.