For an avid gardener, the tiny miracles that appear throughout a day of gardening are so common place that I often find myself overlooking them. Quite often toiling in the garden can become more laborious than levitating, especially when I start treating planting a garden like a goal instead of a journey. As a practitioner of yoga and meditation it is woven into my daily life to pause often, to breath deeply and stay in the present. Easier said than done, right? So when I notice that my head is hurrying the day along or thinks that I should be anywhere but here, I start to remember how powerful a deep breath can be. Inhaling, filling the belly, exhaling, surrender to my surroundings and the moment…allow thoughts to do what they do…pass.

In a simple breath I can reconnect to what is 100% available: the present moment. Within that moment there is a wealth to experience, a slumbering bee drunken by new pollen on a blossoming euphorbia, the tiniest daffodil peaking its glowing face through a fence, the dance of a delicate tulip surrendering to the currents of the wind, so many things to notice.

I could say these are hidden treasures, tucked away to be discovered, but they’re not, they are out in the wide, open space around me, not hiding from anything. It is all too often my lack of attention that is keeping ME hidden from the magic. So, take a deep breath, wherever you are, and notice what beauty and surprises might be right in front of you…

Caution: deep breathing is contagious, (it is hard to do just one) and can lead to miraculous random discovery!

 - Leslianna Federici