“People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains,

at the huge waves of the seas,

at the long course of the rivers,

at the vast compass of the ocean,

at the circular motion of the stars,

and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.”

– St. Augustine

I’ve had this quote in my purse for a few weeks. I’m not sure why I hadn’t posted it to the blog yet, but maybe I just wasn’t ready. When I am introduced to a new quote I like to take the time to let it sink in. I have to write it in my quote book first. Something about taking something from paper to mind to pen to paper really helps me to take every word in. Then I have to walk around with it (literally) for a bit, reading it daily if not multiple times a day. After the past few weeks I’ve spent with this quote, I feel like it has become a part of me. I’ve made a conscious effort every day since I came across it to look in every mirror I pass. Not like girls do when they walk past store windows, but I REALLY look. I see more now. I see more than just a physical reflection, I see myself in a while new light. I am as wonderful as the height of the mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the long course of the rivers, the vast compass of the ocean and the circular motion of the stars. I am just as complex and just as beautiful, with so much to be discovered. Each of us is an individual wonder that we so often forget to realize our own complexity and beauty. We spend so much time, money and energy trying to find beauty and awe  in everything around us, we travel miles and miles around this world looking for things to wonder at, that we forget to look in the mirror and walk right past ourselves, the most wonderful thing any of us have to wonder at. How unfortunate.

I plan to do this from now on. To wonder at myself first. Maybe it’s turning the new leaf of 30, maybe it’s turning the page from 2012 to 2013, I’m not sure. But my mind and soul feel so different, so much stronger and balanced.