(July 2, 2014)
I was driving across Kansas back to my wonderful home state of Colorado. I kept my usual routine that I typically go through on road trips: prayer, searching for a radio station in the middle of nowhere, and belting out songs with no shame to the point of losing my voice. Inside 100 miles away from home, I saw a sign that said, "Scenic Route to Denver Next Exit." I thought, "Why not?"
A few minutes after making the turn onto Highway 86, I realized something profound about what I had just done. I had a destination in mind, and a plan for my course of action. When suddenly, the opportunity to experience beauty presented itself. I hadn't taken any time to figure out what the time differential was going to be in choosing this new path; I just knew that, in my heart, I wanted my road to be more than just point A to point B and that's it.
Today, the desire for beauty not only altered my course on the road, it made me reconsider some very important decisions in my life. Many times, I find myself knowing that I want something, but then I start weighing the cost of what I will need to sacrifice in order to attain it. Of course, that leads to me talking myself out of the practical necessity of whatever that may be. "It's not really worth all the trouble." Well today I witnessed a breath-taking spectacle of rays of the setting sun powering through the clouds over the eastern plains of Colorado. In the end, I made it home knowing that the spontaneous decision to seek what is beautiful had become the highlight of my drive home.
Allow beauty to transform you. Let it alter the otherwise mundane routine of daily life. Search for it in all situations of life, and you will not be disappointed.
I was driving across Kansas back to my wonderful home state of Colorado. I kept my usual routine that I typically go through on road trips: prayer, searching for a radio station in the middle of nowhere, and belting out songs with no shame to the point of losing my voice. Inside 100 miles away from home, I saw a sign that said, "Scenic Route to Denver Next Exit." I thought, "Why not?"
A few minutes after making the turn onto Highway 86, I realized something profound about what I had just done. I had a destination in mind, and a plan for my course of action. When suddenly, the opportunity to experience beauty presented itself. I hadn't taken any time to figure out what the time differential was going to be in choosing this new path; I just knew that, in my heart, I wanted my road to be more than just point A to point B and that's it.
Today, the desire for beauty not only altered my course on the road, it made me reconsider some very important decisions in my life. Many times, I find myself knowing that I want something, but then I start weighing the cost of what I will need to sacrifice in order to attain it. Of course, that leads to me talking myself out of the practical necessity of whatever that may be. "It's not really worth all the trouble." Well today I witnessed a breath-taking spectacle of rays of the setting sun powering through the clouds over the eastern plains of Colorado. In the end, I made it home knowing that the spontaneous decision to seek what is beautiful had become the highlight of my drive home.
Allow beauty to transform you. Let it alter the otherwise mundane routine of daily life. Search for it in all situations of life, and you will not be disappointed.
