Have you ever gotten so annoyed at some little thing that you missed the goodness of the moment?

May I not miss beauty.
May I not miss joy.
May I not miss wonder.
Keep me awake and aware of the world.

— Ceisiwr Serith

Today’s post is about an ordinary day about to go off track.  AND about an extraordinary vista I almost missed in my haste and aggravation.

This morning I organized my “out” chores and clustered them together… I aimed to get in several errands before the 8:45am Zumba® exercise class I’ve been enjoying even though I will forever have two left feet.

I was as usual, in a rush.  My first out-errand of the day was to a store that opened at 8am.  I was there promptly at 8.  But I’d mis-read their advertising sign.  ONLY on Tuesday did they open at 8.  Today being Friday, not open at 8.  And, since this was my THIRD (and, may I say, last) unsuccessful attempt to purchase an advertised item at this store, I was not a happy camper.  I was in fact, sliding down a slippery slope into an angry, frustrated rant.  Not an auspicious start to my hectic morning.

I stalked away, angry and disappointed.  And since my car was parked a half-a-parking-lot away from the storefront (I refuse to give up trying to hit those coveted 10K steps per day) I had plenty of time to swell my rant into a full blown, mind-bending tirade:

What a waste! This is the third time I’ve come here. My own stupid mistake, I shoulda paid more attention to the sign… I left early, drove 5 miles in the opposite direction from my exercise class and all for naught! What am I doing here??? (Whine… shall we get out our violins, Ellie?)

Then, at the height of my aggravation, my eyes skittered up to the morning horizon where I spied the most gorgeous of skies! The morning light sparkled exuberance over mountains and palm trees and buildings!  The light was amazing.  Well, knock me down and call me crazy but right then and there my angry rant morphed into a prayer of praise:

Ah! This must be why I’m here – to see this wonderful, glorious light – if I’d been anywhere but right here, right now I’d have missed it.

Thank you, God, for this beautiful morning.

…And although the photo you see at the beginning of this post didn’t capture the glory of the moment, it reminds me to look up and outside myself because, somewhere out there is beauty to brighten my day, if I will only open my eyes to it.

May you, when you most need a lift, find a glorious light to brighten your day.  Look up.

Have you ever gotten so annoyed at some little thing that you missed the goodness of the moment?