There's that Deepak Chopra quote about being happy for no reason, like a child. Just taking in the daily miracles that surround us.

After talking with a coworker yesterday, I tried to emulate what his four month old daughter does: embrace the fascination outside when driving. On my morning commute I did just that, taking in all the trees and buildings. Some of the trees had flowers, and I thought "how wonderful is it that some trees are flowering in January; what a beautiful drive." I saw a house with a cool balcony and realized someone designed that, someone built it, and that's just really cool. We have so many cool structures today, and it's so easy to simply pass by them without noticing.

In The Happiness Advantage Shawn Achor talks about the "Tetris effect," of noticing small things that make us happy and focusing on all the positives. He gives the example of two coworkers on a coffee break outside, with one saying "it's so nice the sun is out today" and the other remarking "it's too hot today." Both were true, but the two individuals had completely different perspectives about it.

We can all adopt this paradigm. We can all choose to see wonder. It's constantly all around us. It's kind of amazing how giddy you feel when you let it sink in, when you truly appreciate the magnificence in such "mundane" things we ordinarily take for granted. The rich smell of coffee in the coffee shop I visited this morning. The crisp cool air of winter. The quick smile I received from a passing stranger. These are all miracles from just this morning. How lucky I am to be alive and experience them.

We have the ability to chose what we see. Choose to see the wonder.

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