One of these days I find quotes I totally disagree with, it's not today. Thanks Don for a great start of the week.

I like this one so much.

"In order to move others deeply we must deliberately allow ourselves to be carried away beyond the bounds of our normal sensibility."

I think that as we grow older, we tend to lose our sense of wonder. I maintain mine by gardening and simply looking at all the beauty around me. I love tiny wildflowers. It amazes me sometimes how beautiful they are when you look at them closely. Things we call weeds can become something quite wondrous if you take time to study them.

This applies to all of life, really. So many of us live on the surface and never take time to delve deeper into things. My mother used to talk to every cashier in her local grocery store, and the boys who took her groceries out to the car. She knew all their names, and sometimes she even hired them to do work around her house. She gave them Christmas gifts, found out their birthdays and gave them cards. Years later, when I was working in a grocery store, I realized why she did that.

When was the last time you actually spoke to a cashier or stocker in your grocery store? They all have name tags. Try calling them by name and asking them how they are doing. It brightens up their day, I promise you. We used to write checks, so people knew our names, or we had to hand our credit cards over to them, so they saw our names on that. Now we just swipe and go and never think about the person behind the counter.

Step out of yourself and really look at and acknowledge the world around you. You won't regret it.

Good Morning, Good quotes to start the day! Dirtygardener, I like what you wrote. One of the reasons I live in a small place is that we all know each other. The woman who checks out my groceries is likely to also attend the breakfast st the Grange, everything is local, there are no chains doing business in this town.

lilosophie, I wish I could live in a place like that again. I like having real neighbors and having people know each other.

You wrote some lovely sentiments above, dirtygardener. Taking my dog on his daily strolls, I am always on the look out for interesting plants and animals that cross our path. Sometimes it is a tiny new mushroom; tomorrow we may meet the bunny rabbit that enjoys eating my toad lilies. Several times during this autumn season I have watched with delight the dancing spiral of the beautiful red and gold falling leaves. Tonight I may be enchanted by the moon peeking through the pine boughs. It is with joy that I look upon all of the wonders that God has provided.