Seeing the Gold
It’s a spectacular day and as I was walking Percy around the yard, the outdoor sights lifted my spirits. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary; not really. I’d seen all of the flowers, the trees, the butterflies before. Even photographed them probably hundreds of times. And if you know me, you know I’m not exaggerating. But today’s butterfly is ever so different from yesterday’s. Every single moment is different from the one before it or the one after it. When I let myself live and be caught up in the present moment, it’s as though I see through a magical lens.
By seeing in the moment, I notice how the light plays on the trees, and how vibrant the orange butterfly is against the backdrop of a purple flower. I notice the leaves swinging back and forth from their limbs. And the beauty in an ordinary leaf that has fallen. I notice the dance of shadow and light, and a thousand other things. Pure magic!
But then I let myself come out of that magical moment and think of the future. It then became bittersweet because I know that soon the trees will be bare, the butterflies gone and the air way too cold for this girl. These thoughts reminded me of one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost. Here it is…
“Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.”
While it might sound depressing, here’s the thing - yes, the gold is short lived. I learned the other day that most butterflies live an average of only a few weeks. One has to catch the gold when it’s there. But the good news is that the gold is constantly being renewed. With each day, we get one more glimpse of gold. Some days it’s easier to see than others. But it’s there. Like the flower in bloom for just a day, only to be replaced by another. Or the snowflake that falls to the ground only to be replaced by another. All “gold” moments.
The magic is in really seeing it and being in awe of it. Feeling grateful for that presence of “gold” in our lives. To see it we must stay in the present moment. No one ever sees gold while worried about a problem, or having an angry conversation in their head over something in the past. I’ve learned much about mindfulness over the years and still, I so often miss it because I’m not living in the now. But being present to presence is pure gold.
Here are a few photos of those wonderful glimpses of gold that I could only get from today. Tomorrow, they will be slightly different. I hope you enjoy.
Sending my best,
Connie
