The pandemic affected all of us in different ways … some of it was good, and some of it really wasn’t. If I’m being honest, our family experienced plenty of both. But today, I want to focus on one of the positive things that came as a result of our lives being turned upside down.

For me, the outdoors became a refuge during the spring and summer of 2020. I’ve always loved to be outside, but with four kids and an extra large golden retriever confined inside for many of our waking hours, any chance that we had to escape into the fresh air was a gift. I found I could actually breathe. And then, beyond that, something funny started happening. I started to notice things, things I had never paid any attention to before.

Sure, we all see the trees when we walk outside (and I do love trees) … but I found myself looking more closely… and suddenly an entire world opened up to me. There was something flying around in the sky and skirting along the branches of those trees, something filling the silence with song and flittering through the air in fantastic flashes of color.

For the first time in my life, I became fascinated with birds.

Now, did I get a lot of teasing about this “new discovery”? Oh yes … lots of eye rolls and bored nods when I started to explain the difference between a male cardinal and a female cardinal. (The animal kingdom has it right — the woman deserves to be wooed and impressed!!) 

But no matter the mockery I endured, I was hooked! How could I have never noticed this whole ecosystem before? And then, I couldn’t help but wonder: what else I have been missing? Which lead to: how can I intentionally learn to see, differently, to make sure I’m noticing all the beauty this world has to offer? And that is where this journey began. I hope you’ll join me!