Alive in Every Moment

The greatest tragedy is not dying, but getting to the end of your days and having the realization that you never truly lived. That one moment, day, or year was not distinguishable from another. That they merely just blended together because your life was not your own, but consumed by the chaos and rhythm of the world. Life passed by without notice: you never truly stopped to realize the beauty that surrounded you in every moment, in every single breath.

60 Day Challenge

When the 60 days began, I knew it was a large and lengthy undertaking not only for myself again, but to ask people to join me in the challenge: to post a picture for 60 days straight that encompassed something beautiful from each day. 

I was overwhelmed with the amount of photos that poured in, over 1,700 photos total. Each giving everyone a glance into the beauty of everyone's life. It didn't need to be lavish, excessive, or on any grand scale. It could be the simplest of things: a flower, a child, a tree, a piece of paper, ice cream, a book. What was most beautiful is it gave such insight into the beauty that surrounds each one of us every day: all different, but beautiful. Some days beauty may have seemed so abundant and it was at every glance and in every breath. Then there were other days in which it seemed to escape us. But it was always present, even in the simplest of things like the very breath that filled our lungs. Beauty is always present, we just have to stop and realize it. We just have to take a breath. When we stop and realize it, it causes us to truly live in every moment and be present in the life we are each choosing to live, regardless of what we are each facing. 

Exist or Live?

What happened over the course of those 60 days? Some kept at it for the full 60 days, some posted the beauty that filled their lives intermittently, some were lost to the chaos and busyness of life, and some were fed by seeing the beauty of other's lives.  My greatest wish after the 60 day challenge? That everyone realize how easily we can just begin to exist in our own lives, never truly living and seeing the beauty in which makes up every day. That it's easy to suddenly let moments, days, weeks slip through our fingers without ever realizing that we are alive and breathing. That every breath is filled with so much beauty. That this life we are each given is utterly wonderful no matter the battles we may be facing. After all, it's the only life we are given. My greatest wish is that when we each reach the end of our days we may look back and see a life filled with so much living and full of incredible beauty. Thank you all for being a beautiful part of my life and taking part in this 60 days of finding beauty in every breath. Love to you all. 

Take a breath. Isn't it beautiful?