Last week, I took a walk on the mountain near my house, hoping for some fresh perspective and relief from my crowded brain. I was out of inspiration. Life felt boring, overwhelming and kind of like one task after another.
This happens to everyone – even the people you know who seem to have it all together.
I’ve noticed that focusing on what is right in front of me, right now, helps me get focused and minimizes the confusion.
It had been raining that day and as I motored at a good clip along the trail where everything seemed pretty brown and wet and late winter-ish.
Then, when I bent over to retie my shoe, there was a flash of color at ankle height. I leaned over and took in the view of a tiny orchid. What a trip, out in the muddy pine-needle duff, life asserting itself in yet another unfamiliar form, rising up out of the ground, to remind me of beauty and joy and frailty.
I looked around – and they were everywhere. It was like my eyes were opened in a new way.
Tiny, hidden, and perfect. I became inspired noticing the beauty that I would have missed if not for my loose shoe lace.
The Calypso Orchid turns out to be an endangered species, which I found out when I went home and looked it up. In the crash and snarl of our busy lives it seems like moments of calm are kind of endangered too.
When life is looking a little bleak, the big picture view can seem daunting. Keep it simple and look around. There’s plenty to get inspired on.
My cure that day was paying attention. And the tiny, rare and very beautiful orchid that made it happen.
Written by Brad Black, EO’s co-CEO
Photo by Brad Black
