I’m reading David Frawley’s book “Vedantic Meditation.”  He writes about how our lives present us with both limited and unlimited views of the world.  So this morning when I completed my morning yoga practice, I walked onto my back patio and contemplated my view.  I have an enclosed space, surrounded by other buildings.

There are a lot of things to see in my back yard: trees, shrubs, flowers, flower pots, a stream, a bridge, a sun umbrella, table and chairs, barbeque grill, surrounding condos, the sky, clouds, the sun shining on the tree tops. 

Yet, as I stop to focus on one tree, I am awed by it beauty.  I am looking at the tree from a distance of about fifty feet, my view is limited, yet there is so much to see.  The tree contains thousands of green leaves, a gray-brown bark that’s smooth in some areas and rough in other.  Each leaf has veins to receive nourishment from the earth.  There are varying hues in the leaves.  When the sun kisses a leaf, the color brightens.  I don’t know the name of the tree, it doesn’t matter.  All I know is that it stands tall, reaching into the beautiful blue sky.  I can look at this tree every day and see something new.

How many times have I passed this tree and been blind to it?  How many times have I gone through my day limiting my view of the present because I’ve been caught up in past memories or the future?  How wonderful to start the day noticing more of my life.  I can not yet see the unlimited, but I’m one step closer to seeing today.