I drove north with a friend to an area of the country that is known for its beautiful fall colors. When we planned the trip, we knew we were going just after the peak foliage season. Some of the trees were empty, but many glowed with colors. There was still so much beauty around us.

We could have focused on what we missed, but there was too much in front of us. Why would we choose to miss what we had just because we had missed something else? But that’s what we often do when we declare,

• I wish so-and-so was here…
• If only I hadn’t been delayed…
• I wish you could have seen it when…

Of course, disappointment, grief, and regret are real emotions that need to be expressed, but when they eclipse what we are standing in the middle of, we toss even more into the “what we missed” rubble. Instead, we need to find a way to acknowledge both the what-we-missed and the what-we-have realities. We live in one and glance at the other. 

We cannot ride the wave of topping every experience. We have access to so much that we begin to build a model of expectations. Because we know something is possible, we bookmark it as something to attain or experience. If we were to look at the same possibility in the context of its range of reality, we’d embrace a much broader array of possibilities. We’d appreciate the past and anticipate the future, yet notice and savor what is right in front of us. 

Find the beauty in your today. There might be opportunities, relationships, understandings, and hopes that are not quite in their prime or well beyond it. While it might be difficult to see at times, there is always beauty to find and appreciate.