"See the Beauty HERE."

A couple of months ago I had the urge to paint. I really love to paint/create, but this particular Saturday in March, it was cold and gray and rainy. I suppose you would think that's pretty normal here, but believe it or not we don't usually experience torrential down pours or storms, so it was a bit out of the ordinary even for us Seatlleites!

It had been a packed weekend, with friends visiting from out of town and crashing at our place. Lots of dinners and touring and late night chats. This was fun and all, but I was ready for a cup of coffee, sweat pants, and some relaxation! I turned on an old movie and let my craft cabinet explode all over my living room.

*Side note: My daddy used to be so perplexed as to why I was such a normally organized person but I insisted on creating a chaotic mess every time I "crafted" as he said. I told him it was part of the experience and it made me feel like a "real" artist. It still does :)

As I was saying, I created my messy arting area and got to work while sipping coffee and enjoying my lazy afternoon attire. A while back I had purchased this little stencil book from Urban Outfitters. It was full of sweet/inspirational quotes that you could use as stencils. I had been eyeing it for a while and one day it was only $1 so of course I snatched it up! I had used it a few times before for little things around the house and a few presents but there were still a few quotes I wanted to hang up, particularly in the collage I've been building on my bedroom wall.

The one I chose to paint that day read,

"See the beauty here."

I then chose to place a black and white photo of some people shopping at an outdoor market along with some beautifully cut out flowers in the background of this quote. I hung it towards the bottom of the art collection and it happened to be right by my head...the first thing I see when I wake up (if I am laying on my right side of course).

FAST FORWARD >>>>>

This past Monday I squinted as the faint sunlight spilled into my room through my balcony doors and gently woke me up. I lay still as my eyes focused on the recently added painting and the first words I encountered that morning were, "See the beauty here."

I chuckled to myself a little as I realized the irony of it. (Or not.) 

So, A LOT has happened in the past few weeks. Things are stirring and changing and a lot of exciting transitions are on the horizon...but they are still quite a ways off in the distance. 

If there is one thing I know to be true of myself it's that I am an ANTICIPATOR. I labeled myself as such a few years back when I realized that in life I always enjoy looking forward to things more than I actually enjoy them when they finally arrive. I like to have something big and exciting to set my sights on. It's just who I am. 

This is often times a great thing...but sometimes it causes me to miss out on what's happening currently all around me. I get all excited about something and once it happens it just fades into the background as something else becomes the "next big thing." Certainly this causes me to miss out on an awful lot of beauty! I have seen myself do this so many times before. I am all in until something else comes along... Of course I finish the first thing and I tie up loose ends and all of that, but somehow I check out to soon and let my heart leap ahead and in doing so I miss out on lessons that could have learned, relationships that could have been formed, and memories that could have been made. I don't allow my heart to remain in one place until I officially move on to the next. 

Seeing that painting on the wall was such a great reminder and inspiration for me. Although there are many exciting adventures ahead there are still many to be had here; in this place. I can see the warm, sandy, golden beach in the distance, but I am still floating in the midst of a big, beautiful, sparkling, turquoise, crystal ocean and if I spend too much time with my eyes on the beach I will miss the beauty of the ocean all around me! (I like metaphors too...can you tell?)

I am almost positive that over the next year or so this will become my motto. I can plan and get excited about all that is to come, but I never again want to look back once I arrive at that beach and wonder what I missed out at sea! I want to make the most of every moment here and learn every lesson that is to be learned here, become the person I am to become here and invest in the relationships that I have been blessed with here!

The "next big thing" will always be out there, but may we never miss out on the "big thing" we are a part of right now!