We are all in a funky time with quarantine and we tend to take advantage of the time on our hands. I must say there has been moments were i cant put down my phone because i’m into going through feed on Instagram or snap chat. I’m not sure if its just me but my mom has always said “Get off your phone and look around” whenever i’m sucked into my phone in the car. Of course i look up annoyed because i don’t see an importance to look around, then once again up sucked into my phone. It honestly took quarantine getting thrown in my face to acknowledge my surroundings. I have a 4 year old rottweiler who loves to play catch so i have made time to go play with him. i usually bring my phone outside and get on it until he brings the ball back. Finally one day i just looked up at the trees in my backyard and saw a beauty in my surroundings. I stopped bringing my phone outside and i began to appreciate my dog running to catch the ball and the wind moving the trees in different directions. Once i started doing that i began to get off my phone in the car and open my eyes to new surroundings. Its hard to appreciate things when you don’t take time to acknowledge it. I advise for you to go outside and drink your coffee, or read a book. Take a second to just look around and seek the beauty in the world. The bible quotes (John 1:3), “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” This verse explains how without God this world wouldn’t even be a creation today. That means we have to start appreciating gods works meaning we have to acknowledge the beauty of our surroundings.

Heres a couple tips:)

  1. I can not say how much reading has helped me appreciate my surroundings. Im not gonna lie i used to hate reading and im pretty sure some people can relate! With extra time on my hands i decided to start reading but i dont own any books like i said i was not a big reader. I downloaded Books on my phone and i started reading “A Honeybun and Coffee”. Automatically i couldn’t stop reading it and i was done reading a 350 page book in 2 days which not to mention never in my life have i done. I would go read outside since it was a quite place to read and before i knew it my surroundings became peaceful.
  2. Make time everyday to be outside! I have started eating breakfast outside at points or drinking coffee and reading. I also cheer so i go outside sometimes and tumble to keep my self moving. My favorite time to be outside is the mornings! I personally am a morning person so anytime you get to go outside in the morning please do! The sun is rising as the peak of the sun shines on you brighter every second. The sky is changing and there is always a small breeze. Although night sunsets are always beautiful. Take time to be outside and look around!
  3. Just take a few moments everyday to get a off your phone and sit outside. I know its hard to leave your phone behind wondering what notifications are popping up but just do it even if its for 10 minutes! It doesn’t matter if you do nothing and just sit outside or if your going out and being active, just make going outside to take a breath a priority everyday!When you do so you will begin to appreciate being outside so much more!! Once you come back inside you can go ahead a check your phone;)
  4. Lastly dive into Gods word! This is the most important thing to me! When you read the bible even if its just a verse a day is so important to appreciating the world. The bible talks so much on Gods creations and it shows an amazing amount of beauty. When i started to take time to read the bible the world around me began to amaze me. It says in Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” This verse is one of my favorites because it explains that the world we live into today, the world with a crazy amount of nature and beauty, was once empty. God started off with a empty canvas and painted a masterpiece. When you take time to appreciate the verses you read you will began to acknowledge the creation among you.

I hope this helped! Have an incredible day! xo