I was on a walk on a very gray day in the middle of what had felt like a long very gray winter. Tired of feeling grumpy, I put on my coat and took myself out on a late afternoon walk to enjoy some daylight while it lasted.
I followed a familiar street where it gets a bit quieter and filled with inviting trees. As I walked, I began noticing little things that made me smile like tiny spring bulbs sending up bright green shoots and a neighbor wearing an excellent pair of colorful pants.
Photo by Antonio Ron on Unsplash
I began to feel a little lighter and noticed a bounce in my step. As I continued walking, I stopped in front of a huge tree in glorious bloom with tiny pink blossoms.
At that moment, I noticed a hummingbird buzz by and stop to drink in the flowers. I noticed a warmth spreading through my heart and felt incredibly lucky to see a hummingbird on what seemed like such a dreary gray day.
Then I noticed myself think, “This is beautiful, but it won’t last, hummingbirds move so quickly.” And although it just seemed like a fact, I noticed a sinking feeling in my chest and thought “this won’t last, maybe I should go home.”
Then something unexpected happened. As I stayed and watched, the hummingbird didn't just disappear like I thought it would.
I let my heart to soak in the the sight of this tiny buzzing hummingbird as it diligently explored the blooms on the tree and hovered from bloom to bloom, taking its sweet time and drinking all the nectar it had to offer.
If it could talk, I might imagine the hummingbird would say something like, “What if you just let yourself feel this and delight in the beauty of this moment, fully? What if you let yourself be excited and joyful without needing to do anything to earn it or make it stay?”