Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Day 15 - Breathe Bravely Challenge

Finding the beauty in every breath.

For a majority of the past two years, I have traveled the same straight road to attend graduate school. My trip takes about 50 minutes from the front door of my house to my office door at school. Those two hours spent commuting are some of the best parts of my day: it's time for me to take in the world around me and really appreciate all that I am surrounded by. Most of all though, it is time for me to decompress, just simply think, and to realize how incredibly full and beautiful my life is.

One of the most amazing things to witness and be a part of during my commute is the changing of the seasons: to watch the world transform before my eyes. The beauty that surrounds me often leaves me speechless and so very humbled. Most of all, it reminds me how lucky I am to be alive, breathing, and given another day to take in all the beauty that is my life.


There are times I find myself becoming so consumed by the glorious chaos that is my life that the beauty that surrounds me seems to disappear. I take it for granted, assuming it will always be there: never glancing beyond the road I am on at the wonders that the world has so beautifully placed around me. But then there is something that catches my eye. Suddenly the chaos of the world, the worry of tomorrow, the desperation to live is all silenced and the beauty around me is overwhelming. On one of my very first trips, a little white church in the distance caught my eye. I could see it off on the horizon and some days the sun's reflection would make it seem as if it was glowing. There would be days, or even weeks that I wouldn't notice the church: I would be so absorbed in my own thoughts and blind to the stunning beauty filling my days. As I was driving home just a few days ago after a beautiful Spring rain storm, the church caught my eye. I decided to take the next exit and find the church: the source in which has brought so much beauty from a distance to my life. After several miles on a lonely gravel road surrounded by the South Dakota countryside, I came upon the church. It was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Love to you all.


Stop and look around you. Take a moment to realize the beauty that encompasses you every day.









Become a part of the Breathe Bravely 60 day challenge. 
Take a moment every day and capture the beauty that fills every breath.

1. Capture a beautiful moment every day. 
2. Each day share your picture with us: 
          Facebook - Ashley Ballou-Bonnema
          Instagram - breathe.bravely
          Twitter - @breathebravely


3. Add the hashtag #breathebravely60 to your post and tag Breathe Bravely in your photo!

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