The world is a beautiful chunk of space.

It’s very easy to pass through the halls of life and not notice the surrounding beauty because of our preoccupations with whatever. Of course, that statement is nothing new to us, but maybe it’s time to seek and see beauty in the midst of the hullabaloo of our existence.

I grew up in a family seeking and noticing the beauty of people, animals and nature. How does one see the beauty in people? A smile opens the door of delight and invites you to a new and charming friendship. Acknowledging the uniqueness of an animal reveals its beauty. And, then, there’s nature!

Nature is our initial building block of beauty. I can vividly still see and embrace the attractive weeping willow tree on our home farm. Then, there are the long lost images of the purple Mayflowers growing on our pasture hill. Of course, images of the old lilac bush could not be ignored — either by sight or scent. I could go on for sometime about those old beauties, but let’s progress to a recent trip that was full of beauty.

Along with some family members, we took a vacation foray to Yellowstone National Park. In case you aren’t aware of it, I’m not a newbie to the human race, but beauty always stuns me.

The park is absolutely gorgeous in many ways. We arrived to be greeted by mountain sides covered with snow wrapped lodge pole pine trees, steep gorges, swiftly flowing mountain streams and magnificent rock formations. Again, nothing, but … wow! When the business of traveling is complete, that’s when one can take a breath and see the beauty around you.

Naturally, we celebrated a bit, and enjoyed a couple of brews and some wines.

We took a snow bus trip into the park to get a closer view of the awesomeness of the landscape. Along the way to Old Faithful, we met a herd of bison, a moose, a bald eagle, and I had a personal and up close meeting with a curious coyote. Seeing all those animals reminded me that even though we had seen similar animals before, we must always see and enjoy them. After all, we darn near exterminated all the bison, but, thankfully, some wise people stopped that action.

Then, we arrived in the Caldera — the collapsed geographical feature that hold the many geysers, bubbly mud pots, the pools of absolutely beautiful sapphire water and so many more attractive natural wonders. What always caught my eye’s attention was the many contrasting colors of the environment.

The contrasting colors reminded me of the myriad of colors of wines. From a light colored sauvignon blanc to a straw colored chardonnay; from a dark red cabernet sauvignon to a lighter red merlot, and from a rosy Madeira to the deep reddish brown of a Marsala, there’s so much beauty to be found everywhere.

I would be remiss to not mention the beauty of one’s family. Yes, there are those moments when the family sledding gets a bit too much, but overall, being with the family is life enriching. During this park adventure, we laughed our heads off, had serious discussions, toasted each other, sat silently with each other and simply basked in each others company. As I held our granddaughter so she could take a nap, the beauty of the outdoors synced with the beauty of the family.

One last thought about our park visit. The silence was so welcoming and beautifully comforting. It’s as if the park was doing all it could to welcome us, to help us build fantastic memories and to remind us not to forget to listen for peace.

Upon our arrival home, it was time to relax. I find there should always be a time for reflection after an event, and, while enjoying a glass of Offley Tawny Porto, I pondered what had just happened. The 10-year- old Porto with its nutty caramel taste was perfect. The park revisited me again. I just wished I had asked my new coyote friend for its name and address so we could stay in touch!

The beauty of life comes in all shapes and sizes. As one moment of beauty slips away, another one will appear. See it, embrace it and be enriched by the awesome beauty of life.

Be mindful, that in the midst of daily darkness, to seek the light. It’s there, and, in it, you will find beauty.

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!