Simple things....

In Jr High, my language arts teacher made us write down a quote each day... One in particular has always stood out and galls me.
"Simple things amuse simple minds."

Every time I find enjoyment in something simple I remember that horrid quote.
Maybe I should simply get used to the idea of my own simple-mindedness! ;)

We just got grapefruit scented dish soap again after a long while. It is surprising to me how much more I enjoy that silly (yet necessary) task of washing dishes when the soap smells nice! It is so simple, and yet makes it easier to complete the task with a good attitude. I find that oddly amusing.

On our drive home the other day I had the opportunity to watch a turkey vulture playing on the wind currents. Often I get to watch hawks at play, and at night I get to catch a glimpse of an owl as it swoops past my van. [I'm usually the passenger when this sort of thing happens ;)]
I really enjoy watching them. It reminds me that there is more out there in life than my small bit of world. Some where, a baby is born. Some where, some one is getting married. Some where there is joy, and some where there is sadness. While one weeps, one rejoices, and the sun rises and sets on both. I can get stuck in the here and now, and forget that I am not the center of life, nor the things with which my day or week is occupied. The rise and fall of the hawk or the vulture, some how grounds me back in reality... there is more than this.
As I ponder this, and realize that watching the soaring is a simple thing; I cannot help but think also that maybe what we need in our current fast paced society is some more simple minds enjoying those simple things.
Do you miss the sunset because you are too busy? Do you get the chance to sit back and enjoy the view? Stop and smell the roses? The moments are fleeting and easily missed. Are they simplicity and so common that they are overlooked?
The beauty of these simplicities are that they are profound. They speak of the creativity of our God, of His care (after all He feeds the birds) and serve as a reminder that there is more to life than we are sometimes faced with.

Maybe I am simple minded, but maybe the person quoted never knew the joy and beauty of simplicity. :)