Overcome

Have you ever had one of those moments when you’re overcome with emotion?

I went on my usual walk this morning, a path that’s a little over 2 miles at our local county park. It’s a meandering paved trail that goes up and down hills and around curves, and it circles a large lake. I like to go early in the morning when it’s quiet and fairly deserted. I usually pass a handful of joggers or dog-walkers on the trail, and I enjoy the solitude. Today’s weather was a bit more brisk than usual; frost dusted the greenery choking the sides of the path, and I could see my breath as I huffed and puffed up and down the hills. My hands and ears were cold, and I was walking faster than normal because of the low temperatures. But then, as I rounded a short bluff, I saw a sight that looked a lot like this:

The beauty of the lake, and the sight of the mist rising in the sunshine, stopped me in my tracks. My eyes filled up with tears. I can’t explain the feeling I had, but it was so overwhelming I had to stop walking for a minute to catch my breath. A profound sense of awe and gratitude filled me, a wave of emotion that I’ve felt before in fleeting moments. So I stayed in that moment, breathing, watching, allowing the feeling to wash over and through me, so grateful to just be alive to experience that incredible sense of joy. The song playing on my iPod was Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising, and it seemed the perfect soundtrack for this moment suspended in time.

I left the park with a light heart. I hope to carry it with me through everything I do today.

These are the moments we live for, even though they may be few, short, and far between. They are the moments of sheer ecstasy in the simplest thing: freezing air searing our lungs, the scent of water, mist hanging like lace in the air, birds streaking across the blue sky. These are glimpses of such powerful beauty that we stand still, unable to move, able only to soak them in, admire them, appreciate them. They remind us of what we are: travelers together on this planet, all of us searching for happiness and peace. God is in these moments, I believe, and we can reach out and connect with that Divine Presence at an intimate, awesome level.

I hope you will have one of these moments today, too, and experience the blessing that comes with it.