Outside my window a blue jay sits on a thin, almost white birch tree limb. It swiftly turns its head back and forth, aware of every sound in the woods.  In the brush the crackling of leaves can be heard as the footsteps of some unknown creature invite echoes of life on the mist of the morning.  Emerging lazily from between pine trees and mountain laurel is a small black bear.  It saunters along comfortably about the forest, sniffing around, possibly for its next meal. Or simply exploring the world it inhabits. It seems to have no care beyond the moment—its present hunger or curiosity. There is no urgency or need to plan its next move. It interacts with life in a way that leaves me somewhat envious and wanting. I am envious of nature’s moments filled with no expectations, only the moment. I am wanting for what it seems only nature has the privilege of enjoying.

Nature has a way of reminding us how glorious and refreshing it is to stop and enjoy a moment in time.  Watching the interaction of everything natural—the blue jay, the black bear, the white birch and pine trees—is like watching the heart of the universe unfold its magical miracle of life before us. Even the leaves that crackle under the weight of an animal, or an insect singing to the night, awaken our most basic love of all things natural. We are reminded that every rock, tree and ocean houses a part of who and what we are. The symbiosis of everything that exists is undeniable. Even dreaded viruses are a force in nature to be respected for the role they play in the transformation of our world.

We live in a place where all the wonders of our imagination are possibilities we may never live to experience, or may never live to forget. Our existence shows us that anything is possible, even as our imagination strains to believe so many unbelievable things. We are here. We exist by design or accident.  And the details of our evolution in this world do not change the fact that we are here and will only be here once as the current energy we know. 

Enjoying what and who we are now is imperative. Taking in this moment is all that will ever matter in the grand scheme of things. We are a strange anomaly in a strange place, interacting with everything familiar and unfamiliar in a strange way. Giving reverence to today—this hour, this minute—is the greatest gift one could give to their life. And the only way to enjoy the strangeness we call life.

Be in the moment. In doing this, flowers smell sweeter, colors become brighter, love becomes richer and death transforms into an eventual experience that enriches our moments, making each one more alive and filled with grandeur.  Be in the moment and let life awaken your senses and enrich your life.