In the beauty of the lily

The tiger lilies bloomed today when the sun shone for the first time in days. Both the blossoms and I turned our faces toward the sun.

I spent a perfect summer day reading, biking 12 miles, collecting broken glass and tiny stones along the river, accomplishing some simple household tasks, making some earrings, kayaking along my familiar route upstream and down, and then enjoying dinner with friends. Soon, I'll read myself to sleep, staying up late, or maybe not--that is one joy of summer.

I love these blue stone beads, no two alike, but each reminding me of the classic image of the Earth from space. When I hung them inside this lily, suddenly they resembled two eyes looking up at me. Sublime and ridiculous, all in one.  

So many people live their lives without days like this, full of simple joys enjoyed one by one, peacefully. How fortunate I feel.