My most beloved morning ritual (after drinking so much water) is to take my (giant) cup of coffee outside on my front porch and just be. My dogs and I take in the day and simply notice.

I wonder how many of us are aligned with similar rituals. While I rise fairly early, I love a slow roll. Quiet. Reflective. Not quick to talk or work.

So I’m definitely a morning person. But a quiet morning person.

It’s so fascinating how different we all are and yet somehow make human connections and are able to negotiate our differences. I digress.

So this morning I fell enraptured by the texture of the sky, the ways the early sun rays reflected through the blue and the clouds. The varying green of the trees. All the different birds that flew overheard. So many birds!

Sound cliche? Maybe.

But the alternative of hurrying or being on my phone or opening my laptop right away sounds like a verrrrrry faraway second place.

I sat in gratitude that I have a ritualized practice that allows me to remember that, no matter the struggles of humankind, both on a global and sometimes personal level, that beauty does indeed persist.

We just have to look up and find her.

“There are only two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other as though everything is a miracle.”

Albert Einstein

I was working with a client from my Path to Freedom Coaching Program yesterday. He (yes, I also work with men sometimes) proclaimed that “everyone is annoying.”

I assured him that, yes, indeed most everyone is annoying, especially if you are looking for evidence of that.

And also (so important to live in the “and also” space), there is beauty everywhere.

If you are looking for it.

Look for annoying, you’ll find it everywhere (p.s. I just almost used the phrase “in spades” but something felt wrong about that, so I looked it up. While “in spades” is derived from card games, the word “spades” can be used as a derogatory term for Black people, so I have immediately retired that phrase. So many words to choose from- we don’t need that one.)

Look for beauty, you’ll find it everywhere.

Noticing our thought patterns and whether they serve to enhance the quality of our experience and add to emotional and physical freedom in our lives is a powerful way to make major shifts. Sometimes we have to ditch old habits and thought systems to make space for new, highly aligned ones.

Nothing is a miracle or everything is.

Today, I choose everything.

Love you.

Jocelyn