Have you ever taken the time to ponder, or even just notice the beauties of the moment? Have you realized the importance of those beauties and how they can lift and even change your life?

Life rushes by so very quickly. Years are made up of a collection of months and weeks and days and hours and minutes and seconds.

We seem to note the passing of years. The plans for the month. What needs to be done this week or today. But do we pay attention to the hours of rest, the minutes of joy, the seconds, or moments, of lasting pleasure and peace?

Ponder with me a moment. Thats right. Loosen your tie or kick off your shoes. Get a bit more comfortable, for a moment, and work with me, here.

Close your eyes and imagine a soft sunrise as it breaks across the sky, coloring the broken clouds in deep reds, then oranges and golds, then on to yellows and white. Picture the silhouettes of seagulls floating in the air on the light breezes that are the cool of the day as the sun is rising. See the shadows of the trees against the deep purples and blues of the mountains in the background.

How do you feel?

Close your eyes again and imagine yourself sitting in the shade on a large stone by the side of a mountain stream. Smell the crisp freshness of the light breeze in the air as you listen to the gentle babbling of the stream as it flows by you.

Again, how do you feel? Is it a refreshing and rejuvenating experience?

The beauties of the moment are found in so many things. The titillating sensation of caressing and being caressed. Awakening in the morning laying next to the warmth of the person you love, kissing them gently on the forehead as you rise for the day.

Cultivate a fascination for the learning process, and aquire a voracious appetite for knowledge.

We are all, each one of us, children of a loving God. He wants us to get to know Him, to enjoy the works of His creation, and to learn to become like Him.

There is a difference between living for the moment and living in the moment. Living FOR the moment generally manifests itself in the selfish attitude of whats in it for me? Living IN the moment is more of an attitude of awareness, participation, and gratitude.

In the end, all we take with us from this life are the memories we experience, the knowledge we learn, and the love from those whom we have learned to love, as well.

The beauties of the moment are the steps and experiences we have in this life as we collect, one by one, those things we will take with us when we are gone.