Being present for pleasure and joy

I went away for an entire weekend for the first time in a long time to host a retreat for my WomanSpeak ladies. This is only the third trip I’ve taken away from the kids ever. It felt like such a gift to be in such a beautiful place and I sat outside watching the sunrise Saturday morning for 2 hours while I drank my coffee and chatted with whomever was waking up.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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As the sun rose, I noticed how the golden sun reflected on the dew creating these orbs of light. I think back to when I was younger and try to remember what gave me joy, pleasure and beauty. I don’t remember much of these things as a child and as a younger adult, what I can come up with are the things that I achieved like buying our first house or a dream car or the anticipation of an upcoming vacation or holiday. But in all those in between moments, between desire and achievement, I was so miserable.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I don’t think I would’ve stopped to notice all the little things today without having experienced all the struggle…like the pleasure of a slow, quiet morning, the way the sun lights up the morning dew, watching the sunset for the umpteenth time, smores by the fire, or surrounding myself with the company of women who don’t want or need anything from me other than for me to be me.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Doing things solely for my own soul isn’t something I do often enough but this weekend has given me pause once again to take inventory of all that I have to be grateful for and has reminded me that life happens in the tiniest of moments and our job is just to be present for them.