Yesterday I took a one-hour walk along the one road running through Key Largo, Florida. Mostly the walk was a chance to soak in some sun, but I was also keeping my eyes peeled for something yellow that could be the source of today's post.
On Friday I promised readers that, each day for the month of July, I would write a post somehow based on the color yellow and with 27 days still left in the month, I will take all the inspiration I can get.
The first ten minutes, or so, of a walk I am usually aware of my surroundings. I read store front signs and say hello to passersby. But about the time the first beads of sweat drip down my forehead, I slide into a little bit of a trance. My eyes glaze over and my thoughts turn inward. I day dream, think up big ideas, replay conversations, mill over problems, and formulate solutions to the things that feel most pressing at the time. Forty minutes into my walk yesterday, I was completely lost in my own thoughts - unaware of anything going on around me.
"On your left!" someone shouted from behind.
Startled, I snapped out of my day dream and leapt to the right.
It was a cyclist in black bike shorts and a yellow shirt.
And I got to thinking. How often do we do that? How often do we get so lost in the tasks of our lives and so caught up in our routines that the scenery - the people, the special events, the chance to create moments - go unnoticed?
That is until a man in a yellow shirt rides by. Only it isn't a man in a yellow shirt. It's a loved one who falls ill or a family member who suddenly loses his job, or a relationship that comes to an end.
And then I thought some more about the fact that today is the Fourth of July. And I wondered. How many of us live day in and day out, taking freedom for granted? And then I remembered the twin towers falling and I thought again about the man in the yellow shirt.
And I felt thankful. Thankful for the chance to take a walk. Thankful for the life I live, the husband I am married to, the three boys whose lives I get to be a part of, my health, my friends, and my parents.
And the man in the yellow shirt who reminded me to pay attention.
Shining off until tomorrow...