Clarity On Fire

I was taking a walk the other day, mentally replaying a couple of coaching calls I’d had that morning and thinking through everything I had to do the rest of the day. I turned the corner, and suddenly right in front of me was the most beautiful cherry blossom tree in perfect bloom. It was stunning. I reflexively stopped to admire it, and my mind went completely blank for a moment. It was just me and the tree and nothing else. I felt warm, content, and totally at peace. After a few moments, I snapped out of my trance and continued on my walk, but I couldn’t stop thinking about that tree. It felt like a little spark of beauty and joy in the midst of the hustle and bustle of my day. I started to wonder how many of those little moments of joy I was missing on a daily basis. I’d been so up in my head that I’d almost missed that moment of pure contentment that I’d felt admiring the cherry blossoms.  How many other moments just like that was I blind to every single day? How many opportunities for beauty and joy and