Let life kill you with delight

Every day I hear or see something that more or less kills me with delight,

That leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light. It was what I was born for - to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world - to instruct myself over and over in joy and acclamation.

~Mary Oliver

Every day you pass by hundreds of doorways. These doorways lead to secret gardens of pleasure. They are everywhere around you. Voices whisper from the other side of the door, beckoning you to enter: to bathe you in the delightful sights, sounds and smells, textures, tastes and experiences the divine has waiting for you.

Most days you pass right by these doorways. You are in a hurry, pre-occupied, going somewhere you really need to get to. As you pass by the gardens in your busy life all the pleasures waiting for you release a collective sigh - their disappointment that once again they miss out on the joy of enchanting you.

What gardens? What doorways? Where are they?

All around you. You discover them when you remember what it's like to be a child. You find sacred beauty in everything around you.

My god-daughter Faith was walking with her mom when she was about four. She said to her, "Mom, don't walk so fast. You miss all the excitement that way." In her childhood brilliance Faith new that the real excitement wasn't to be found in where they were going, but was right there in front of them on the way. It was in the flowers they were passing that had opened when yesterday they had been closed buds. It was in the puddle that was the perfect size to for making big splashes. It was in the rocks she discovered that differed in colour from the ones she had already collected.

That wonder at the simple things in life is the wonder of the magical child. It's in all of us. It's just that she hasn't come out to play in a while. She doesn't rush. She needs to be coaxed out of hiding. Deadlines, goals, and hurrying make her run for cover. While she understands that you, the grown, have to live with all of this, she's just waiting for a moment when you can slow down, be a bit quiet, maybe even still. If you do that, she might just take you by the hand and lead you to the gardens. She knows where all of them are.

So this week I invite you to pay attention to nature, and look for the many doorways that lead to the gardens. Here are just a few ideas:

1. Just take a moment to look at the moon every night. Isn't it amazing that even though the changes from night to night are slight, she is always transforming. She becomes completely round and full only, to release it all until there is nothing left. Then she does it all over again.

2. If you are morning person, watch the sunrise. Do you notice that everyday it's rising a bit earlier, and it's position is changing ever so slightly? Same thing with the sunset. It's a little later everyday, and it's moving along the horizon as well.

3. Are there buds you hadn't noticed on a tree you pass everyday? Watch the changing of buds to blooms.

4. Listen for the noises that are pleasing. You might be surprised at the sweet sounds you can hear in the heart of the city.

5. Notice the changing produce in the grocery store. Caress the produce that's new to you. Feel the weight of it in your hands.

6. Run your hands along a rosemary bush, lavender plant, hug a tree.

There are millions of ways to pay attention. Doing so will turn the mundane in your life into the extraordinary.

The ordinary, the mundane and the simple will "kill you with delight" as Mary Oliver says.

Then share your experiences on your Bcelebrated site, or create a private page for someone you love and let them in on this little secret.