Gratitude

Life was good back then if you could remember it. I didn’t have money but I had time and a sense of wonder. Louie Schwartzberg have been shooting time-lapse flowers continuously, non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 30 years. And to see them move is a dance that he will never get tired of. Their beauty immerses us with color, taste, touch. It also provides a third of the food we eat. Beauty and seduction is nature’s tools for survival because we protect what we fall in love with. It opens our hearts and makes us realize we part of nature and we are not separate from it. When we see ourselves in nature, it also connects us to everyone of us, because it’s clear that it’s all connected in one.

Lot of time when people seeing the beautiful images, they say “Oh, my God”. Have you ever wondered what that meant? The “Oh” means it caught your attention, makes you present, makes you mindful. The “my” mean it connects with something deep inside your soul. It creates a gateway for your inner voice to rise up and be heard. And “God” is the person journey we all want to be inspired, to feel like we are connected to a Universe that celebrates life.

According to the research, 80% of the information we receive cone through our eyes? And if you compare light energy to musical scales, it would only be one octave that the naked eye can see, which is right in the middle. And aren’t we grateful for our brains that can take this electrical impulse that comes from light energy to create images in order for us to explore our world?

Aren’t we grateful that we have hearts that can feel these vibrations, in order for us to allow ourselves to feel the pleasure and the beauty of nature? Nature’s beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude. So I have a gift I want to share with you today is a “Happiness revealed”. And it will give us a glimpse into that perspective from the point of view of a child and an elderly man of that world.

CHILD: When I watch TV, it is just shows that you just pretend. And when you explore, you get more imagination than you already had. When you get more imagination, it makes you want to go deeper in so you can get more and see beautiful things. Like a path. And if the the path that lead you to a beach of something and it could be beautiful.

ELDERLY MAN: You think it is just another day in your life? No! It is not just another day. It is the one day that is given to you today. It is given to you. It is a gift. It is the only gift that you have right now. And the only appropriate response is gratefulness. It you do nothing else bit to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is. If you learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life, and the very last day, then you will have spent this day very well. Begin by opening your eyes and be surprised that you have eyes you can open. That incredible array of colors that is constantly offered to us for pure enjoyment. Look at the sky, we so rarely look at the sky, we so rarely note how different it is from moment to moment with clouds coming and going. We just think of the weather. And even of the weather, we don’t think of all the many nuances of weather. We just think of good weather and bad weather. This day, right now has unique weather. May be a kind that will never exactly in that form come again. The formation of clouds in the sky will never be the same that is right now.

Open your eyes. Look at that. Look at the faces of people whom you meet. Each one has an incredible story behind their faces. A story that you could never fully fathom. Not only their own story but the story of their ancestors. We all go back so far. And this present moment on this day, all the people you meet, all the life from generations and so many places from all over the world, flows together and meet you here. Like the a life-giving water, if you open your heart and drink.

Open your heart to the incredible gifts that civilization gives to us you flip a switch, and there is electric light. You turn a faucet and there is warm water, cool water. And drinkable water. It is a gift that millions and millions in the world will never experience. So these are just a few of an enormous number of gifts to which we can open your heart.

I wish that you would open your heart to these blessings and let them flow through you. That everyone you will meet on this day will be blessed by you. Just by your eyes, by your smile, by your touch. And just by your presence. Let the gracefulness overflow into blessing all around you. Then it will really be a good day.

Tedx Talks by Louie Schwartzberg