A Near Miss on the Golden Gate Bridge

On a trip to San Francisco with a friend, it was unseasonably warm for January, so we decided to rent a couple of bikes, and ride among other places, across the Golden Gate Bridge. I was mostly concentrating on not crashing into other cyclists, but I noticed a girl standing on the bridge, palms together, fingers pointed heavenward, eyes closed, face tilted to the sun.

She was praying aloud.

I couldn’t hear what she said, but I wondered what prompted her to get off her bike and offer up a prayer. I was so curious, in fact that I stopped my bike to see what she was looking at.

I looked to see the scene that inspired her so much and saw what’s in the photograph below.

This moment really stood out to me for several reasons. One was, that I was going to ride right past this scene and pay it no attention. How tragic is that? I appreciated that another person was prompted by it to offer a prayer. I wondered what her prayer was about.

As I look at this picture, I see several things:

The vastness of the ocean. The color of the water, the way the ocean fades into the sky seeming to go on forever.

I see how tiny and insignificant that sail boat is in comparison to it’s surroundings. I wondered if the girl was praying because she felt like the boat…small, insignificant and lost… maybe seeking guidance.

Or, she could have been offering a prayer of gratitude. Standing on this amazing feat of a bridge, overlooking such a breath taking view, feeling the sun on her face and smelling the air as it rose off the water.

Whatever it was, she stopped and took notice.

We have been blessed with such an abundance of beauty all around us. In every season, everywhere we look, there is something worthy of, if not a photograph, then at least of our attention.

How many things are we missing as we speed through our days?

How much richer and happier would our lives be if we noticed the beauty that surrounds us?

This week lets slow it down, even if only for 15 minutes. Go outside, look around, breathe in through your nose, turn your face to the sun. See what there is to appreciate. I guarantee you’ll find something.

There is beauty in the most common things, to those who have eyes to see.

Originally published at findmeaning.net on March 31, 2015.