Hi friends,

In my neighborhood there is a pond that I like to walk around that is a potent reminder of the abundance that surrounds us all the time. There is so much to appreciate, evidence of how much we have already received. Though the loop is less than a mile, you pass through several different worlds. One stretch runs alongside a field of sunflowers, yellow buds in rows upon rows, a dELiA's catalogue kind of dream. Then you round the bend under a stretch of shade trees and out onto a walkway over the spillover, where rainy days create a waterfall from the upper pond to a lower concrete slab. Then the canopy of trees where, in the spring, the monk parakeets gather, forty at a time, chirping.

The pond itself is full of life. Egrets, herons, little grebes, and plenty of fish to feed them. The nutria have built themselves a peninsula in the middle of the water, and unknowing fishermen will set up on it, standing right on top of their little homes. But lately, the thing I keep noticing is the turtles.

The turtles are amazing, all different sizes, spending the whole day sunbathing. They climb onto branches and rocks and turn their faces toward the sun, worshiping their god. I love seeing them there. They are a beautiful embodiment of love and presence.

It's funny, because when I've thought of cold-blooded animals in the past I may have associated them with cold, with darkness, and darkness with depression. But they're the opposite. Cutie crocodiles and teeny turtles are sunbabies, living it up in the light. Sunshine isn't just what they want. It's what they need to live, and it's there for the taking. Their bodies are built to orient toward it, and it is abundant.

I'm taking a lesson from them. I come alive in the light too. Responding to the things that give me life has become a kind of guiding light of its own. Even when that thing is unexpected. Even when it's the hot Texas sun, something I've spent plenty of summers griping about instead of receiving. It took me a while to stop resisting it long enough to notice what I'm actually being offered. I'm grateful for the shift, from gripe to gratitude, and for the reminder that some of what I need most might already be here, in abundance.

Reflection Prompts

Here are some of the things I'm reflecting on this week:

• Where is there already evidence of great abundance in my life, and am I giving it the acknowledgment it deserves?
• What are the things that give me life and light up my days? Am I leaning into those right now?
• What am I fond of in my current circumstance that I'll be able to look back on lovingly in the future? Am I allowing myself to relish those experiences now?

The summer is long, and in many ways just beginning. But as time always does, soon it will be the next, so I am taking this time to be here now, soaking in the abundance that is already around. Hope you can too <3

xo,
Christen