July 3 I decided to go out and enjoy the splendid morning. I went for a walk through the fields; I decided not to run because then I couldn’t enjoy the splendor of the weather so much. It was sunny, and quite windy. I wished I had my camera, but I knew that there would be no way to capture the drumming of the wind in my ears, the swoosh of the long grasses blowing in the breeze, the warmth of the sunshine, and the magnificent, changing colors. Depending on whether the sun was out or behind a cloud, the grass looked more yellow or blue, as though the two colors that made the luscious green were competing with one another.

There was clover, and buttercups, some dandelions, vetch, and other flowers I don’t know the names of. I scared a deer out of one of the multifloral rose hedges; he went zipping up the field in front of me. After going almost to the last field and back, I got my camera and went out again. As I came home, there were dark clouds in the southwest, and they seemed to be encroaching on the sunshine. The wind was still blowing vigorously, but it didn’t seem quite as friendly as before.

The Lord has given us so much to enjoy. I've been thinking lately that the way most of us live life, is like someone who would chew a piece of an orange only once, then swallow it. If they would just chew a little more, there'd be a whole lot more juice to enjoy. Even so, we rush through life forgetting to fully enjoy the experiences the Lord has given us...and we wouldn't necessarily even have to slow down, so we can't say we don't have the time. There'd be a lot more happiness in life, I think, if we really enjoyed the things that the Lord has given us for our delight. That goes for everything, whether it means noticing how comfortable a chair really is, savoring every bite of food, enjoying the cool feeling of water on your face when you shower, noticing the beautiful colors in creation, delighting in the feeling of taking deep breaths of air without any difficulty, or feeling your pulse bouncing and thrilling at the life that is vibrating within you. It means running up the stairs and rejoicing that nothing hurts, or laying in bed and being conscious of the relaxation of every muscle. It means noticing the singing of birds, the scent of clover, the graceful swirl of clouds. Usually we notice things when they are uncomfortable or something is wrong; it would be way better to rejoice in all the things that are right and lovely and splendid. The world would be a much happier place if we all lived life that way—and all of these things could be done without slowing down the pace of life. How much time do our brains spend just vegetating, when we could be enjoying things?!