Recently, I heard Susan Piver talk about the miracle of being alive. “There is an inherent quality of richness in everything,” she said. It’s a good reminder, especially during this month when I am contemplating the kind promise “I will appreciate my blessings.”

From the moment I open my eyes in the morning to the time I close them again for sleep I am surrounded by blessing. Susan suggested that the way to get started in appreciating richness is to look for beauty. Beauty brings me joy. From the stunning outfits worn by my morning aide to the exuberance of the schefflera plants beside me as I eat lunch, to the painting behind me as I work and the goofy face of the llama photo above my desk, I am surrounded by beauty. What a gift!

In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall-Kimmerer writes:

“A gift comes to you through no action of your own, free, having moved toward you without your beckoning. It is not a reward; you cannot earn it, or call it to you, or even deserve it. And yet it appears. Your only role is to be open-eyed and present. Gifts exist in a realm of humility and mystery—as with random acts of kindness, we do not know their source.”

Your only role is to be open-eyed and present. Look around you. See the beauty. Notice the blessings. Enter the mystery.

In your journal:

• What beauty do you see?
• What gifts have appeared in your life?
• How does living with gratitude change you?