How many times have we heard the saying "stop and smell the flowers"?  Often times we get so caught up in our daily lives, routines, emails, textings, and phone calls that we forget to take the time to look around us.  For city dwellers, a simple walk in a park could help one reconnect.  Some may make a weekend trip to a local Home Depot garden department.  We all need to take a daily moment to look at the unusual cloud formations, a soaring bird or jumping fish, the butterfly that flutters close enough to touch, or stop to smell that beautiful blossom.

Nature lives in all of us.  When watching children play I have noticed many times how they are connected with nature in their own special ways.  Without being told to they will smell flowers, point out working bees or butterflies, and stop playing to watch a bird fly overhead.

Working to pay bills forces most of us into an exhausting lifestyle that most of us wish we didn't have.  But if we could vow each day to give nature just one minute we may be surprised how much happiness doing this can bring.  Maybe we would smile more often, greet a stranger without thinking about it, helping someone without being asked, and yes, stopping to smell a flower.  Just showing gratitude for being alive can bring amazing results.

Katie Grove-Velasquez is a marine naturalist, lecturer, writer, and amateur photographer working in Hawaii.  She can be reached at:  reefannie@hotmail.com