Fireflies

Yesterday I went on a bike ride. It was a crazy day on campus as many of you know and I just needed to get out and do something. So I took off on my bike just before sunset with Jon Foreman in my ears and a half-formed idea of where I might go. Rounding corners, speeding up hills, smiling all the while. (sidenote: I find it hard to compare anything to the feeling of pure release that comes in flying down a hill on your bike). But, after a chance meeting with some friends at a stop light, I headed back to campus as it was starting to get dark. While riding through some neighborhood with overgrown lawn and trees blocking out the little bit of light that was left in the sky, I saw some flickering lights in the distance. In the lawns. As I hit the brakes to see what exactly they were, I noticed they were fireflies. Fireflies. Little beautiful flashing dancing fireflies. It's rare that things make me stop what I'm doing, hold off on where I'm going, take out my headphones, and just look and enjoy. Sometimes it's as if God puts things in nature purely for our enjoyment and to make us stop. Stop and smell the flowers. Stop and be overwhelmed by the fireflies. In the midst of the Chaos, He continues to provide small scenes of beauty in our lives. God-winks. Little things. A rainbow over the tower after a crazy rainstorm. A song that comes on just at the right time. The contrast of a fiery sunset against a purple sky. Conversations with a new friend about the beauty that surrounds us. Cool breezes in late September. Fireflies. But we can only enjoy them if we're paying attention. So this week, I'm gonna keep my eyes open for signs of peace in the midst of chaos. For little moments of beauty. And I'd like to leave you with a few lines from Anis Mojgani's poem Direct Orders as a poetic reminder of this:

"Rock out like the streets are empty except for you, your bicycle and your headphones.
Rock out like music is all that you got.
Rock out like you’re standing on a rooftop and the city’s as loud and glowing as a river below you.
Rock out like you got an empty appointment book, and a full tank of gas.
Rock out like Jimi has returned carrying brand new guitar strings.
Rock out like the mangos are in season.
Rock out like the record player won’t skip.
Rock out like this was the last weekend,
like these were the last words,
like you don’t ever want to forget how."