Day 254, September 15

If, then, I were asked for the most important advice I could give, that which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say: in the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.

Leo Tolstoy

Do you ever find yourself so busy, so focused on what is next on your to-do list, that you forget to look around you?  I am fortunate enough to live in Colorado, where fall is particularly wondrous.  Leaves take on the vibrant colors of autumn--scarlet and saffron, amber and sage.  The air is green apple crisp, the sky a brilliant bowl of blue.  How many times, though, do I truly look ... and appreciate the beauty the Lord has provided?

I wish I could say that I immerse myself in this beauty on a daily basis.  But my mind is elsewhere, worrying over things that don't deserve to be worried about, fretting over a perceived slight, gnawing on a family problem that won't go away.  Even on my walks, I fail to appreciate the perfection of a September day.

This I know for sure: our world was created for us by a loving Father.