On our morning walk, I am startled by a sparrow in flight. Suddenly I am no longer in my mind, lost in thought. I am focused, anchored in the present moment. My feet on the trail, forehead warm from the sun, ears and cheeks still cool from the air blowing off the river. That vibration of movement and sound, that blur of color, so small and yet enough to pull me back to the present.

This is how it is, the tiniest thing has the power to wake you up–a sneeze, a sigh, a stretch, a smell, the slightest shift in the wind or a whisper in a quiet room. The smallest of things.

image by Kitty Terwolbeck