This really is the time to be still for a minute.  We can step outside, take a deep breath, and listen to silence.  Maybe it will require waiting for late night or early dawn to find stillness but it will be worth it.

We are on a fast track with too much to do and too much information coming toward us from every source and we allow ourselves to get caught up in schedules, financial fixations, fast track everything.

STOP.

Birds still sing and children still laugh and leaves still turn bright colors.  We just need to notice.

Ironically, it is often in the best of times that we focus on problems
and in the worst of times when we count our blessings.

So much of our lives depend on our perception of absolutely everything.   Ironically, it is often in the best of times that we focus on problems and in the worst of times when we count our blessings.

How often is it that we see someone on the news standing by a pile of rubble that was once all their earthly possessions, saying how fortunate they are to be alive with their loved ones.  We are blessed to be able to recognize what is truly important while we still have all the 'stuff' we sometimes think is so important.

Life is good for us in this area particularly.  Neighbors are friendly, the economy reasonably stable, weather usually normal, an ocean to wade into- on and on.  Life is meant to be happy.  Not perfect, not without challenges, just happy.

Little moments are always available to seize for delight.  We have to slow down first and stop to enjoy the bounty of our lives.

Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.