Walk on the Sky

It never ceases to amaze me how easily it is to walk past and even through the stunning beauty of life without seeing anything.

Take this puddle, for instance.

It is just a puddle on road broken up with potholes and littered with small rocks a dump truck spilled months ago.  You could splash through it or avoid it on your way to the park just a block away.  Most people do.  It could be nothing but a nuisance, a breeding ground for mosquitos, a mud pit, a failure of infrastructure, the ruin of your good shoes, something to avoid, or nothing of any significance.

Or you could look.  And see.

You could catch a sunset not high up in the clouds, but down on earth, right at your tips of your toes.  You could plonk a pebble in it and watch the colors ripple.  You could risk your shoes and step in it just to get as close as possible to walking in the heavens.

I think of this not just when I see a puddle reflecting clouds, but when I pass by someone jogging with earphones or chattering away on a cellphone.  Music is wonderful, yes.

But so is birdsong and the rustling of leaves.

Every choice we make, whether calculated or thoughtless, shapes our vision of the world.

Sometimes we miss happiness.

We miss it.