This past weekend the hubs and I spent as much time as possible outside doing yard work. The days were great for spending outside, which was a good thing considering the size of the job we are trying to accomplish. You see, we’re trying to dig up the dandelions. ALL of the dandelions in the yard. And it’s kind of a big yard.
The house that we’ve just bought was a foreclosure, so the house and the yard both need some serious TLC (remember that whole bit about me being a DIY/crafting junkie?). We’ve been planting heirloom flowers from family member’s gardens and slowly reclaiming the landscape. During this process, we realized something very important: if we didn’t get ahead of these dandelions, well, we’d be swimming in a sea of little grey puffs before we knew it! So we started in on our task with the both of us taking turns digging up weeds or filling trash bags with piles upon piles of dandelions. As soon as I thought we were making headway, I’d turn and look and see another clump that must have just sprang out of the dirt because I swear it hadn’t been there a minute ago. Our necks were aching, our backs were aching, I got a sunburn. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the outline of dandelion leaves (and still do). I see dandelions everywhere I go now, because I’ve been scouring my yard for them all weekend! And something hit me in the middle of all this muddy work. Something purely accidental, but something that has caused me to stop and ponder on more than one occasion since then, so I wanted to share it with you today.
I tossed down my trowel at one point and leaned back on my arms, letting my face reach up toward the sun to relieve my neck muscles. I laughed at my husband and said, “I keep forgetting to look up!”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “You need to remember to look up; it’s a beautiful day and we get to spend it outside with each other, in our yard, our home. There’s so much more out here than dandelions!”
I keep forgetting to look up! I’ve been thinking about those six words all weekend, and what they mean to me. Maybe it’s resonating with you, too. Maybe you think I’m waxing more profound than needed. Maybe you can use those six words to remind you about my article on staying positive. Whatever those words do for you, they’ve really helped me keep perspective. I think we can all use a dose of perspective from time to time to keep us grounded. Here’s the thing: it’s so easy to be consumed by the task at hand, so easy to get completely wrapped up in what you’re doing that you miss out on the really cool stuff going on around you. So overwhelmed by the size of the task that the detail of the entire world seems to fade away.
It looks dirty, old, and broken from this perspective.
You miss out on the people around you, and on opportunities to be in their lives and to create memories. You miss out on the fleeting moments of beauty: the sunsets, the sunrises, the way the breeze moves the grass, and you can never have that moment back because it will never look exactly like that again. Maybe you even miss out on yourself and your feelings and the chance to get to know yourself better. Whatever the case may be, I encourage you to take a breath and remember to look up. Because you just might find that the view is actually worth pausing for.
I think it’s stunning. What do you have in your world that’s worth pausing for?
Comentarios