It didn't arrive in any sort of box - neatly wrapped and tied with a bow. It didn't show up - as a surprise - on my doorstep. It wasn't the kind of thing that has any weight or shape or form..or any sort of tangible and material presence. The gift - I found today - came from somewhere within.

There - on my mat..in the midst of my daily practice - it found me. With everything changing - the weather..the seasons..the everyday comings and goings and life's ebbs and tides - things have felt just a little uncertain. That the world around me was shifting..and that I'd lost my footing on that solid ground. Wildly - I've been seeking and searching for answers around me. Grasping and holding too tight - looking for the comfort and promise and reassurance that all is going to be perfectly fine and alright.

Just breathe.

I'm the same person today as I was yesterday..and will be tomorrow and the day after that. Change is inevitable and beyond any of our control. The only thing we can do is choose - how it is we respond..how it is we react. Feel it. Let it in. Love it or hate it..but always - embrace it.

A quiet stillness came upon me. A momentary sense that I'd found that ground that I'd been seeking..and that - just maybe - it had always been there. Somewhere within.

With palms pressed. With gaze focused and centered. I knew. The everyday gifts we crave - of peace..of quiet..of centeredness and creativity - are often hidden from outward view.

Always found - somewhere within.

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Cross-posted over at the Inspiration Studio - whose theme in this month of April is that of 'Everyday Gifts'.