Surprised by Delight

The Advent week of Peace began today. Working my way through these four Advent themes is going to ground me a bit this Christmas season. I will keep hope in my heart...and move on to peace.

This morning I read a substack post by Claudia Cummins called Small Wonders. It helped me shift from reading the news to the peace that can be found in noticing small wonders....one of my favorite things to do. 

Here is what Claudia shared:

The world spins into scary and uncertain territory and our bodies quake with angst. We so easily lose our footing. Our minds tend toward gloom and perhaps even despair.

And then we stumble upon a moment that shakes us out of melancholy and startles us back into the beauties of the here and now. 

We pause. We marvel. We sigh. We crouch closer to the mystery.

We whisper thank you to whatever force it was just now that stopped us in our tracks. and opened our eyes, when we might have trampled over another small miracle., another moment of amazement and awe. 

And when the swoon has passed and we return to the world's challenges and woes, recommit to keeping our eyes and ears open to these soul-filling moments of uplift and delight. We commit to becoming a hunter-gatherer of those tiny packages of light that keep us wakeful, hopeful and whole. 

We open our hearts just enough to receive the improbable and the lovely. And we broaden our minds in ways that allow them to be perfectly poised to be surprised by delight.

Here's to finding peace this holiday season while being surprised by delight! 

A few days ago Lynn from Maryland sent me a photo of a couple of red rosebuds trying to bloom despite the cold and snow. 

This is one of those tiny packages of light that keep us wakeful, hopeful and whole. 

Thank you for taking the time to crouch closer to take a look Lynn!

And a few days before that Ann from Lexington sent me this photo looking up through her skylight where she saw a thousand points of light. Thank you Ann!