posted June 26, 2009 09:30 AM         

ainbows and butterflies are themselves
beautiful and highly symbolic, but they are
also representative of all the small miracles of our life - the little things that are so easy to overlook, yet so awe inspiring when we take a moment to notice and to pay attention.

Give thanks for the rainbows, for the butterflies, for all God's creatures - large and small, for the bright blue sky and the soft fog and the gentle rain, for the tree veiled in the season's first frost, for the baby's laugh, for the touch of a hand and the whispered "I love you."

My own "Rainbows & Butterflies" are the squirrels chasing each other around the apple tree, the deer and her fawn who visit us for the apples, the magnificent hawk who swoops low through our yard, the sea otters at play on the beach, the ungainly yet graceful and serene manatees that once came to swim with us.

Consider these "Rainbows & Butterflies"

* a gentle kiss

* a baby's smile

* the voice on the telephone that says

"I'm glad you called."

* the gentle whisper from the other side

of the bed, "sweet dreams. I love you."

* a song that touches our heart - whether a

sad song, a song of love, or a polka

* raindrops on leaves

* brightly colored glass

* a bird in flight

* a basketful of kittens

* a gentle fog

* a sunset

* a roaring fire

* roasting marshmallows

* the season's first dusting of snow

* fruit and vegetables picked with our own

Hand

Exercise: What are my "Rainbows & Butterflies?" How often am I conscious of the small miracles that happen right before my eyes? How might my life be more Joyful if I adopted the practice of a daily Celebration of my "Rainbows & Butterflies?" How might that Celebration look?