Some weeks don’t always feel that astounding. There are hundreds of meditations about living in the pause and accepting the breaks, the ordinary and the routine. This week, I didn’t particularly feel all that wonderful as I continue to go through the motions of life, asking questions of myself along the way.

What am I doing to better love myself? How do I cultivate peace? How do I sort through what I am best at, and then recognize the contributions that I want to make in this world?

When I write those statements down, I suppose they are anything but mundane and ordinary. They are big, monstrous questions with evolving solutions that we can only live our way into. I have been dwelling in the murky answers to these thoughts, and did not feel particularly inspired to reflect on beauty.

Then I read this post by my cousin-in-law and remembered that yes, each day, there is something to appreciate.

I’m going to go list format for this week’s beautiful things with one exception. Right now  extensive, tied-together narrative feels too cumbersome to create.

This week, beauty was found in:

• Homemade Happy Hour – on Sunday my dad put together a beautiful plate of olives and cheese, and crackers with rosemary and hummus. We sat and nibbled off our little white plates while sipping red wine and shared laughter together. I loved how the shiny colors of the dark green and black olives paired well with the soft, yellow hues of the serving platter. Finger foods are delightful, and taking time to enjoy snacks is a beautiful thing.
• Sunshine – once again, for a day in late February, I was shocked and grateful for the warm weather and cascading rays of sun that made my Saturday enjoyable. I will forever be grateful for Colorado sunshine.
• Support – from mentors, from friends, from family. Sometimes, all you need is someone to hold your hand and say “Everything is going to be ok.” It is beautiful to bask in an extension of love and support that you can feel radiating throughout your soul when you seek connection.

Also, in an effort to acknowledge imperfection, I want to let you know that the hot tub we ‘inherited’ is causing a rather hilarious predicament. I have shared our adventures with the hot tub before, and the journey continues. Something is off with our water chemistry and as Dylan and I set out to clean the beast this weekend, we were met with an overwhelming display of well, blue foam. This is not how hot tubs are supposed to react. When it looks like a giant spit his toothpaste into your Aqua Spa, you do not want to enter that steaming pit of water.

We will continue to work on it. Drain the tub, begin again. Add more chemicals and a defoamer agent.  Like all things, progress not perfection. Find something to laugh about and eat an olive – ok?