#mindfulness

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How to be Happy (No Fairy Dust or Moonbeams Required): 10 Simple Tools for a Happier Life "Imagine waking up every morning, feeling good about what your day will bring" Sale: $4.99 to FREE by Cara Stein Rating: 4.3/5 (1,073 Reviews)

How to be Happy (No Fairy Dust...

One more photo from today: I like the contrasts here between the gray skeletons of old pine trees caught in a wildfire more than a decade ago, and the bright greens of new pine trees that have since emerged after the fire. It makes me think about cycles of destruction and renewal, and how good things can emerge from — or are even dependent on — destructive events.

Meanwhile, in the far background stands Longs Peak: one of the 14,000+ foot (4200+ meter) peaks of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, which predates and will (probably) outlast us pesky humans no matter what.

Getting out in nature helps ground me physically and mentally, and it helps me feel more connected to the natural world. I’m grateful that I live in a beautiful place where people are doing their best to protect and preserve these natural spaces. I hope that we …

A sunny, rocky hillside with scattered scrub and vegetation, along with fallen, weathered, gray tree limbs and weathered gray skeletons of pine trees left standing from a wildfire a decade ago. Among the rocks, fallen branches, and scrubby vegetation are newer, slow growing, bright green pine tree seedlings reclaiming the land since the wildfire. Off to the right, and in the far distance beyond rolling foothills is a tall, bare peak of one of the Rocky Mountains sticking up above the surrounding terrain into the blue skies and partially covered in some recent autumn snow.

For me means being in the moment. Not easy to do but it gives your mind a chance to rest for a "moment".

Don't just glance at the monarchs enjoying a zinnia patch. Stop, watch, notice👇, & give yourself a moment of relief from your cares.

Square-frame photograph of a black swallowtail butterfly (likely Papilio polyxenes) standing atop a hot pink zinnia flower with an out of focus monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) standing atop another hot pink zinnia as well as out of focus green foliage in the background. Both butterflies are facing left in profile and both have their proboscises inserted into zinnia florets. The swallowtail has its left wing lowered revealing a portion of the left front wing and most of the right back wing while the monarch has its wings closed so only the front of the left wing is visible. Monarch butterflies have orange wings with black and white patterned edges and black veining, black bodies and heads covered with white polka dots and fine black hairs, large black compound eyes, two long black segmented antennae, and six black segmented legs. Black swallowtail butterflies have black wings with black edging and black veining. The black edges along the sides and bottom of their wings have rows of yellow, scallop-shaped spotting and there are small rows metallic-blue spots as well as orange spots near the bottom-center of the wings. They have black bodies and heads covered in fine black hairs, rows of pale-yellow polka dots along their abdomens, large black compound eyes, two long black segmented antennae, six black segmented legs, and a long black proboscis used for probing the interiors of flower for nectar.