Prompt: Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

My first instinct when approaching this prompt was to retell the stories of the really hard parts of my year. If you’d like to read about them you can – here and here. Oh sadness, why are you so vivid?

My next instinct was to get all “yoga” on you and say something like,<insert breathy voice here> “every moment I feel alive”  – because I’m just that good at being in the moment.

Ha!

Then I wanted to punch myself for being so pretentious and figured that wasn’t the direction this post would take if I wanted to keep my readers.

So I’ll talk about something that has made me all misty-eyed and proud.

Drum roll, please….

I noticed – on several different occasions – the trees changing color.

What the big effing deal about that?

For starters, just about every tree in Sacramento changes from green to Technicolor yellow, orange, red. It is like an explosion of color and so different from the evergreen trees around where I grew up. You would pretty much have to be blind not to notice.

And until last fall (during yoga teacher training), I didn’t ever notice the beauty.

How can that be you ask?

Usually I’m stuck in my head and mired in how to get from here to there or how to get this group of people to do what I want them to do when I want them to do it and for them to think it was their idea – instead of paying attention to the details of life around me.

Not this year.

This year, I am paying attention to those damn leaves.

I’ve even picked out my favorite trees – they are twins.

They live across the street on the corner a couple of blocks down the street from me.

I found out recently they are ginkgo biloba trees. They are at least 10 feet tall, slender and right now have bright yellow flower petal shaped leaves covering them.

There is also a pile of leaves on the sidewalk and street. I’m hoping to see the flurry of leaves falling when the wind kicks in.

I hope I don’t miss it.

Why do these leaves make me so heart-swelling happy?

Because I am finally noticing the little details of life. I think they call it living in the moment. I have heard this is where the peace and the happiness live.

+++++

Has there been a moment that took your breath away this year?

+++++

Today’s prompt is from:

Author: Ali Edwards
Memory Keeping Idea Books
@aliedwards