things i wish you knew

to the one who needs a reminder of life's beauty

you'll know this is for you, just based on the title.

to the one who needs a reminder of life's beauty,

i want you to step outside. i don't care if it's three in the morning or seven at night. it doesn't matter if it's ninety degrees in the middle of july or twenty-seven degrees in the beginning of february. go outside. take a deep breath. concentrate on the filling of your lungs. feel the calm wash over you.

bend down. feel the grass between the fingers that have pet dogs, alpacas, and have made brownies. if you have to dig through a foot of snow, so be it. touch the grass. remember standing in your front yard in may last year? we were throwing a ball back and forth and talking about boys. you were happy. you were laughing. do you remember that?

okay, now go inside. sit on your bed that's littered with stuffed animals. i know things have happened in your room that you'd like to forget. but, other things, beautiful things, have happened there, too. remember your sweet sixteen? we went out for lunch and then came back to your house. all your closest friends were sitting in your room, talking about their lives, and laughing. remember the times that your room has been filled with people who love you. remember laughing and smiling and the deep conversations that have been shared.

walk into your kitchen. look at your oven. remember the time that a certain rodent almost stole the biscotti that we left outside to cool? think of all the things you've baked that have made people so happy. you are such a blessing to others, and that is beautiful.

go downstairs. look at the couch. one difficult conversation that took place on that couch comes to mind. words like "leaving," "i'll miss you," and "you're going to be okay" once filled the space of that couch. tears (and snot because of tears) dripped onto that couch. but think of how beautiful it is, being so far away from that time, now. think of watching movies until 11:30 at night. think of laughing at stupid things like becky the seagull (i really hope you remember that) and a certain white dog.

there is so much beauty just within your house. life contains so much beauty that you haven't even seen yet. what if you made that your goal - to see all the beauty that life has to offer.

june 19, 2019