The world is our treasure

The world is our treasure and beauty surrounds us at all times.  Every day there is much to acknowledge and a great deal to cultivate.  Our hearts fill with joy when we behold a magnificent rainbow or a thriving flower in bloom.  Exchanging a warm smile with a neighbor or a stranger will spontaneously light us up inside.  When we reinvigorate our senses, we see, feel and hear what delights us by opening our minds to the multi-colored harmony of our surroundings.

It’s not a stretch for me to say the pandemic has taken a collective toll on all of us these past few years and at one time or another most of us have been feeling the unbearable weight of these times.  Visiting a friend or sharing time over the phone usually helps to make life less daunting and reaching out to someone less fortunate than ourselves not only makes the recipient feel appreciated it makes us feel better too.

I’d like to share a few activities that work for me when I’m feeling a little melancholy or uninspired.  This is going to sound a little nutty but my husband and I have shared cards with each other for birthdays, anniversaries, or for no apparent reasons at all over the 43 years we’ve know each other (married for 32).  I had also saved cards from my son including some of his childhood artwork and other special notes and cards from family so you can imagine how many cards we have accumulated!  During the pandemic I decided to gather up all our cards from various locations in our home and organize them by date in large binders.  This took many weeks as I relived receiving them, appreciating the design of the cards and reading so many of them over again, remembering how I felt and still feel. I still have more cards to add to my binders however it’ll be much easier since they’re all in one place now.  I would never want to part with any of them and this was a perfect plan and such a meaningful project to me.  Now they’re readily available for us to enjoy whenever we like!

I also organized our drawers, closets and files, in turn donating unused or outgrown items to a worthy cause.  This is the most amazing feeling as well and such a worthwhile sense of accomplishment. I also love, love, love working in my yard.  It’s so therapeutic cleaning up my garden and replanting or pruning back a bush or a tree to recreate a reality which is more aesthetically pleasing.  Before I realize it, I’ve spent hours tending to our flourishing outdoor space and reaping the benefits.

When we update our surroundings with artwork or color it really enhances and improves how we feel about our interior and exterior space. Our homes and workplaces are brought back to life with a fresh coat of paint on our walls or with the addition of vibrant flowers to our outdoor landscape.  New fabric to replace the old on our furnishings can make a huge difference as well as adding a new framed piece of artwork or furniture, bringing new energy to our space and new life to our environment.  It doesn’t have to cost a lot to enliven our homes, workspaces and our spirits and talented designers, artists and craftsmen are accessible to assist us in bringing our dreams to life.

When we shift our perspective to the present and a place of possibilities we can then take pleasure in creating the place we’ve always wanted to be. We can direct our thoughts anywhere we want to by getting in touch with our own optimism and imagination.