Snapshot of a Spiritual Journey

My daughter received an instant camera for her seventh birthday and has been enjoying the process of picking a subject, framing a shot, and documenting moments from her point of view. One of her early images wasn’t captured, due to the shutter not opening, and the developed print came out pitch black. Rather than throw it away, she added it to her photo book, saying, “Every picture counts.” The truth of her words hit my heart.

Every picture counts. Every moment counts. These words, they get at a concept I’ve been batting around lately. I see them embrace the reality that there is abundance in each and every now. My spiritual journey includes the letting go of a definition of abundance that was distorted. Abundance isn’t limited to financial extravagance. 

I felt surrounded by abundance this morning when I woke in my warm, cozy bed. When I took a breath in and felt my human body alive and ready for the day. To think, I would have missed all this abundance if I’d been focused on how cold it was in my house, or the soreness in my muscles as I sat up in bed. I am finding that when I notice abundance and feel gratitude for it, the more my heart opens up to receive even more. 

This opening of the heart is the most recent milestone on my spiritual journey. The process isn’t complete and I’m sure will be ongoing for the rest of my life. In each and every now, I get to choose. Heart open or heart closed? There is no right or wrong. Because no matter what, every moment counts.