Our New Year's Day was relatively warm and sunny here in the Alleghenies. After Mass and lunch, I decided to go for a little walk through the woods and experiment with my new camera. Thanks goes to our teenage daughter for the above shot; I made her come with me.
The pond was still partially frozen and looked mesmerizing with a layer of ice floating on top.
I took so many pictures that it was hard to decide which ones to include and which ones to delete.
We are so fortunate to have both a creek and a pond just below our property.
I don't know why, but I loved the way the leaves looked as if they were fossilizing in the melting ice on the creek.
On the way back up to our farmhouse, we stopped to see our goats, but they ignored me to eat the grass that had been covered in snow and ice for a week or so.
As I walked, and sat, and peered through my camera lens at this microcosm of my world, I knew what my New Year's Resolution would be.
And it's not to write more lengthy to-do lists. It's not to stuff my mind with more news updates and images from social media. It's not to have a greater number of projects to fill my days. And it's not to come up with more events to fill our calendar.
It's to spend more time being still, reflective, and noticing the beauty in the simple things around me. To be completely present in each moment. To not be thinking of my checklist while I'm playing with my children or walking down to the mailbox or petting our goats. To just be at peace where I am and still enough to feel the presence of God.
This will be a huge challenge for my busy mind and rather noisy house, but that is going to be my daily focus for 2017.
