Moments Filled With Miracles

We are born
We live
We die

The condensing of life, 
Makes it all seem so inconsequential.
Yet there are 86,400 moments 
In a day.
Each of these in-between moments are filled with miracles.

A breath,
A sigh,
A few drops of rain,
Or the warm rays of the sun 
Against my skin.

The sounds of the
Raven couple arguing 
In the pine tree in the far corner
Of my yard. 
It makes me chuckle 
Realizing how similar
They are to human couples. 

There are moments of 
Sadness and sorrow. 
The news about a dear friend 
Who will not survive the night.
Or sitting with a child who had a bad day.

All of these are valued moments 
That fill my life.

And yet, how many moments
Have I missed with worry, fear, judgement, or anger
About things I cannot change?
None of these moments will I ever get back.

So much of my life is filled with grace.
A smile and a “good morning”
From a neighbor as we walk our dogs.
Dinner prepared lovingly 
By a family member
Worn out from a long days work.
The sound of laughter in the other room 
From children playing a new game together.

Let me remember these moments,
And let them be the memories 
That fill this life,
For they are the 
In-between that matters
And I am grateful for them all.

Cheryl McDonald 2024©

The other day I was grumbling to myself about something that didn’t happen the way I thought it should happen, and it occurred to me, like a great idea on how to solve a problem, except this was a scolding from my intuition that said stop wasting time on this thought. It’s over and doesn’t matter in the broader scheme of things. I had to laugh at myself because my higher self really was right. I had more important or at least more interesting things to think about and I did not need to waste any more time complaining and grumbling about something I didn’t get a chance to do. 

Then I started thinking about time. How many seconds are in a day, 86,400, and all the things that could happen in a second or two. How much time did I spend worrying, being fearful, or angry about things I could not control and could not change. It seemed like I was wasting my life on these things, and it made me sad. 

This cancer has made me a lot more aware of time, especially the time I might have left and I don’t want to waste it anymore. Mortality is a bitch, LOL. I try to pay more attention to little things that make me smile, especially when I can’t do the things I want to do because of some limitations I have no control over. The ocean breeze that comes through every afternoon and how it makes the trees dance, and just walking through my new neighborhood and seeing all the new plants starting to bloom. There are so many things that grow in this climate of LA that it doesn’t matter what time of year it is, something is flowering. I do love it. I find myself saying almost daily, ” That plant is amazing! I will ask the homeowner if I can take a cutting to paint.”

I am working on trying to catch myself in these negative thoughts as they start. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m not perfect, and sometimes I just have to sit with a feeling for a while before I can let it go. 

Another way to get myself to move on is to just get up and change what I am doing to get a new perspective or to move on from the anger or fear and focus on something else. This time I decided to put it in a poem and try to make something meaningful from it. 

We all have a lot going on these days, so much we cannot personally control. We have to do what we can with what we can change and give ourselves grace and maybe a gentle nudge to let go of what we can’t change.

Maybe it’s time to step outside and watch the trees, listen to the birds, or just feel the warm sun on your face. You do deserve a break for at least a few of those 86,400 moments in your day.

Have a Happy Day,

Cheryl