Open Windows are Essential

“Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things towards you.” – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

“It seems essential, in relationships and all tasks, that we concentrate only on what is most significant and important.” – Soren Kierkegaard

One of my favorite places to visit just a mile from home is the Como Conservatory. I’ve been running by it three to four times a week and look in the windows to see the beautiful flowers.  It’s locked down for social distancing purposes, in the “nonessential” category. Yesterday, when we walked by, they had opened the windows a crack allowing the sweet fragrance of tulips to escape out, a gift of hope and spring.

If we choose to learn and apply the lessons of this rare time on the other side, we will reclassify many items in our life, focusing on the truly essential and letting the nonessential go by the wayside, never to drag us down again.

Nonessential: worry, control, gossip, unforgiveness, regret, resentment, judgment, assumptions, criticism, cynicism, scarcity, noise, busy, hopelessness and overall shallow living.

Essential: joy, kindness, gratitude, generosity, connection, family, friends, unconditional love, forgiveness, letting go, purpose, abundance, faith, hope, light, awe, justice, peace, anticipation, delight, fun, laughter, play, long hugs, eye contact, empathy and deep living.

All of the essentials are available to us right in this very moment, in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, minus the long hugs that will come soon. Don’t wait for the other side to get to what’s essential. And open windows and flowers are essential too.