Sometimes for me it's easy to get caught up in how bumpy things are. How loss is so powerful, how things go wrong, how people aren't who I think they are (or should be).

Mindfulness has been a great friend to me in these times. It's the friend that whispers in my ear to look inside for what else is present: gratitude, optimism, amazement.

And it's the friend that reminds me to look up: at the trees, the red-tailed hawk who glides by my window, the people I love. 

What is mindfulness if not those two reminders: to look in, and see everything; and to look up, and see everyone?