This week, while America froze, we enjoyed marvelous weather here in France. I felt very fortunate to be able to spend most of yesterday outdoors on my monthly "personal retreat day." Not surprisingly, I found myself drawn to my favorite part of Lyon, the enormous Parc de la Tête d'Or. Usually I go to the park for exercise, either jogging or power walking the 2.4 mile perimeter path. Yesterday, though, I just strolled through the interior of the park at a leisurely pace.
The park is wedge-shaped, like a slice of pizza. Running down the middle of the park is a small lake, home to swans, ducks, and other water birds. In the summertime you can rent canoes and paddle boats. To the right of the lake is a huge grassy field where kids play soccer or fly kites in good weather. Bike and pedestrian paths meander throughout the park, and can take you to various destinations within its borders. There are multiple playgrounds, a miniature rail train, greenhouses, rose gardens, putt-putt golf, a velodrome (biking stadium), and my favorite part -- the free zoo.
Usually the zoo is crowded, but yesterday morning there were just a few moms with small children in tow. I wandered from cage to cage, unhurried. I had no agenda. Nowhere that I needed to be, nothing that demanded my attention. So I cheerfully entered the fantasy-like world of the zoo, entranced; a child once again. I was mesmerized by the monkeys swinging on their ropes, hypnotized by the panther's intense stare, giddy from the playful antics of the mongooses (mongeese?). I lingered alongside a small pond, watching the ducks and their noisy neighbors, the flamingos. I noticed the "pecking order" amongst the different species of ducks. Mallards were the chief bullies: they honked and flapped their wings, pushing aside a smaller breed with lavender-grey bills and feet.
Taking time to slow down, to notice, to see, REALLY see, with fresh eyes -- it was a gift. And I realized, as I strolled back home, that it's a gift that's always available. It doesn't take a special retreat day to enjoy God's little wonders, His everyday gifts to us. They are always there, but it takes intentionality to appreciate them.
That is what I desire to do this year. To wake up to the beauty around me. To enjoy each precious moment, not to always rush, rush, rush from this moment to the next. Will you join me?
Good message.
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