Those were my exact words as I stepped off my deck. While I walked and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine, I heard the birds all around me, just living in the moment. I turned up the volume on my playlist and played that oldie but goodie from 1968 titled the same:
*** “It’s a Beautiful Morning”. ***
March and April can be quite unpredictable where we live, so every sunshiny hour that is lengthening day by day, is a blessing. Who wouldn’t love watching the birds enjoying the morning, singing, and flying from branch to branch, landing on signs and overhead wires, just happy to be alive and free. People are out walking more and smiling and chatting, just so happy that winter is over. As some of them walk their pets, I can almost see the smiles and happy expressions on their dogs just to be out in the fresh air. I think after COVID we learned so much about enjoying the simple things in life, and how important they really are to each and every one of us.
After I got my morning coffee at the local coffee shop, I decided to look up and copy down some of the lyrics to that familiar old song.
Anyone from my era probably knows them by heart. That is one thing about these great old songs. Have you ever noticed that the minute you hear them, even if you haven’t heard them for ages and ages, the words somehow come right back. So here they are, and I’m almost certain the melody will be stuck in your head for a while:
It’s a beautiful morning.
Think I’ll go outside for a while and just smile.
Just taking some clean fresh air for today.
No sense staying inside if the weather is fine and I’ve got the time.
It’s time to wake up and plan for another brand-new day.
Either way it’s a beautiful morning, and each bird is singing his own song:
I’ve got to be on my way now, no fun just hanging around.
I’ve got to cover some ground.
(I love this next part)…
There will be children with robins and flowers,
As sunshine caresses each new waking hour.
Seems to me that people keep seeing more and more each day,
Sooo, I just gotta say: “Lead the way, any day it’s OK… It’s a beautiful day.”
I found every word of the lyrics inspiring. There really isn’t anything more I can add to this except to say, “Thank you Lord, for getting me up this morning and getting me out of the house to walk in the beautiful sunshine.”
Believe me, the best cure for ‘house humdrums’ is to slip on a jacket, put on a hat (if your hair doesn’t feel right), grab your sunglasses and keys, go for coffee, and look around at everything! It’s amazing what you see when you’re really looking.
Every day, I learn a little more about appreciating the blessings in the simple things we see around us all the time. We are the ones that God created everything for in the beginning, and He meant for us to have everlasting joy.
Although we all have problems and situations we have to deal with, there are still lots of blessings and reasons to smile that can be found every day. We may not know what’s going to happen tomorrow, and we don’t see the whole picture, but we can see what we have for today and enjoy the simple things that are given freely to us.
I keep writing these blogs and just when I start to think nobody’s gonna understand or notice them very much, I am blessed and surprised when someone comes up and says, “Oh Marlane, I read your blog last night and it was exactly what I needed to hear”, or, “I don’t know how you knew what would encourage me this time, but it was nice to know that somebody else understood.”
How could I not be grateful and inspired when comments like that warm my heart, and I am blessed by the simplest phrases that mean the world to me. That alone is a breath of fresh air and gives me my enthusiasm to keep writing.
Dear Reader, I hope these words will inspire you, and be exactly what you need today as you read them. Remember, when the road gets rough, every day is a fresh start, but in between those hours I hope you will recognize a blessing in something simple, and that it will give you strength to hold onto.
Blessings, Marlane.
Excerpted from the book "101 Roads" by Marlane Lillian Mazur.