Lately I've been starting to appreciate the beauty in small, sometimes ordinary things. Things most people wouldn't even notice or care about. For example, the way pieces of gravel sit in the dirt on the shoulder of the road, has a certain artistic beauty to me. The way a brick wall is, with an overall structure, but with much character to the bricks. The way sand looks with water splashed on it. These are small, spontaneously created works of art, made with no thought to the beauty they hold. And what adds to the aesthetic beauty of such wonders is that each of them has a story behind it, sometimes hundreds of stories. The way shattered glass lies on the floor. How did the glass get there? Who broke it, and how? and why? how did whatever broke it do so in a way to create the way the glass is lying there now? Or that cardboard box, lying in the street, what was it used for originally? And how many times after that was it used, to move important papers, or a student's belongings, or an important business project? And why is it in the street at all, much less this one? Is it now someone's home? How many people have walked by and kicked it, or read the writing on it, or stepped on it on their way to work, or the bar, or their favorite restaurant?

These are the things I've been thinking about lately. When we learn to see the beauty in little things, we can appreciate all the wonderful things that make up our lives. Rather than impatiently mumbling at the red light, stop to view its contrast to the metal that houses it, and at night, how it glows. Read bumper stickers. Look at how many other people are around you, and realize that each one of them has a family, a destination, a story behind where they got their car, and emotions and feelings of their own. Realize that God loves them, just as much, but not more, than He loves you. The next time you are in a store, appreciate the time spent by the employees making the stock on the shelves straight, and also admire the "messes" and how beautiful they look in all their spontaneity. Before you swear when you drop something and it shatters on the ground, admire the shape the object makes when it has fallen. Notice the way it breaks into many differently shaped pieces of different sizes. Enjoy the sound it makes. Sounds are another part of everyday life that often we don't appreciate. Even traditionally negative noises are beautiful, especially when heard in the right context. The baby crying, to most ears, is negative. "Little brat," we often mutter. Yet the cry of that baby is proof that the baby is alive! And, while such noises heard repeatedly become annoying, don't miss the beauty in and behind the sound. Rain, while often grumbled about, creates a romantic soundtrack to life. Many people never learn to appreciate music fully because they fail to appreciate the other sounds in everyday life.

Where is this all going? What's my point in sharing all of this? Often, life stresses us out. I'm not exempt, myself. Sometimes everything bothers us, and we not only view our lives as miserable, but share that misery with others and darken their lives, too. I think that if we can all take just brief moments in our daily lives, and take pleasure in these small things, our lives will be much richer for it.