I believe in appreciating nature and all of its glory. The ordinary things outside are hidden, or so it seems. I had never valued the unnoticed things outside. The normal things. But now, doing so has been important to me because it lets me see the hidden beauty that is around us.

Once upon a casual reading at the beach after school in eighth grade, I decided to walk home. I didn’t want to be indoors just yet after being in such a beautiful weather. I had never noticed the weather in such vivid detail as I noticed it that day. I could smell the light salty smell of the ocean water that was continuously lingering in the air. The wind of early May was hitting my face, making my hair flow behind my shoulders.

I immediately looked at the sky, eager to see what was going on up there. The sun was peeking from behind the clouds, illuminating them to a grey and white color. They looked like big balls of cotton, just like how I used to draw them when I was little. The sky was a clear blue behind them. It would look just like the ocean water that was in front of me, if only the water was still with no waves rippling through it.

The sky had never looked so beautiful.

Each day it is overlooked as it provides a different view for us to gaze at every so often.  I couldn’t believe that it was the first time I truly noticed what looked like a vault of blue heaven that has always been above me, and will remain there even after I die.

I started walking towards home, all of a sudden interested at the idea of examining what was really around me. A bird glided through the sky and slowed down, resting itself on a tree branch, like a car easing into its parking space. It chirped and I loved the sound.

The simple high pitched sound made me stop and look at the bird. It was light brown with some black in its feather. It was a typical bird I saw every day, the typical chirp I heard every day, yet it amazed me how I had never really heard it before. How my ears had somehow missed its sound. It was like a clock ticking in a room. You never notice that it’s ticking, until just once you actually do notice it. Then you can hear it sharply. You can’t seem to stop yourself from hearing it, to make it fade in with the background noises.

It felt like my eyes broke down the shield that was preventing them from looking at the beauty that surrounded me.

The bird then flew away from the branch. I watched as the branch moved slightly. The gusts of wind were rustling the leaves across the front yards, alluring my eyes to truly look at its beauty. I walked towards it, wanting to touch the green leaf. I held it in my palm along with the one next to it. I noticed that they were both different. One had a slight white line going through the side.

Then, I realized, we look at all the birds the same way. We look at all the trees, crows, clouds, flowers, and grass the same way. We know they are different, yet they are all the same to us.

I wondered that if I don’t appreciate a bird chirping early in the morning, I won’t appreciate any bird at all.  If I’m not thankful for a tree providing shelter for me, then I won’t be thankful for any tree at all.

Every individual living thing, no matter the species, is different. The birds and trees are not all the same, just like humans aren’t. If I can appreciate individual human beings that do favors for me once in a while, then I can also appreciate nature and all of its glory for the constant favors they do for me every day. All nature is significant; therefore, it should be appreciated for its existence. Nature lets me see beauty in a different form.

The ordinary things in life are extraordinary, if you look closely at them.

This I believe.