Captivated Me

It is a peaceful, easy, gorgeous morning. I inch leisurely out of bed to get dressed and make my way downstairs for breakfast, where I have a front seat to the sunrise outside the hotel eatery’s window. As the rocks catch fire with sunlight, I read my new novel and enjoy my last meal in this town that has so captivated my nature-loving heart. After a couple of compelling chapters, I open my journal and begin to write. It has been a full, blessed, unbelievable week, and I feel ready for the journey back to the Midwest.

I load the car, pass through the Arches National Park Visitor Center for gifts for my nieces and nephews, and begin the three hour drive back to Salt Lake City. A private singalong concert with the Beatles, Tom Petty, Don McLean and friends ensues as I span the miles. A bag of sour gummy worms – one of my favorite road trip guilty pleasures – sits opened in one of my cupholders. A crisp, ethereal sky serves as the backdrop to the stunning mountain-scape that paves the way to the airport. Big breath in. Big breath out. Thank you, God, for sharing this incredible artistry with me today.

I return my rental car, pass through security, and sit down to a Mediterranean-style meal. I visit with a Delta agent and a trio of paramedics at the restaurant and then retreat to my gate with the latest copy of Magnolia Journal and a spiced oat chai latte. The magazine contains a sweet and inspiring segment on delight that I relish. Boarding the plane, tea in tow, I allow these insights to steep into my soul:

“Cherish your delight.
Not because it is fleeting or hard to come by,
but for the same reason you protect a child’s
imagination from the realities of the world:
because it is good and pure.

Fight with it.
Use your delight to conquer what ails you. Go
into battle against your fears and shames, holding
high the banner of delight, declaring where
your allegiance lies, declaring
where you choose to give your attention.

And give it away.
Gift your delight. Take joy and peace and
levity with you into moments and situations and
conversations where they are needed most,
and may you freely offer your delight
whenever and wherever you can.

And in these moments in which delight reigns,
it is not because there is no longer any sadness.

Delight reigns when you simply see it, when you
make note of it, when you mention it.

Delight reigns when you lean into it despite the
realities of the world around you.

Because delight is a reality. It is here. And it is
yours in whatever way, shape, or form you find it.
Whatever you do with it next can be yours as well.“

Whatever you do with it next can be yours as well…