It isn’t often we get the chance to take a moment and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. We spend far too much time running from place to place, attending meetings, taking kids to school, and everything else adulthood convinces us is necessary. I have spent most of my life, being the “Type A” personality I am, always trying to fit more and more into my already busy day. For me, it is a challenge, and yet, sometimes something happens in our life that forces us to hit the brakes suddenly and see what we often miss.

Yesterday, I hit those brakes, and I happened to have the opportunity to drive through the California desert just after doing so. I am from Southern California and have driven these roads hundreds of times. I rarely think about how striking it is because it is something to be driven through in order to arrive at one’s destination. This time, however, I took the time to notice things I hadn’t really paid close attention to before.

It was raining in the desert yesterday and the Joshua trees were such a deep golden green against the wet sand. In fact, whenever the sun would peek out the remaining droplets could be seen shining on their sturdy branches. And for those of you that have never been there, Joshua trees are unique to this part of the world. Not so much a tree as a cactus actually, but a stunning addition to what would otherwise be a barren landscape. Had they always been this beautiful?

Beyond the desert floor you could see the snow covered mountains with their white powder tops begging to be part of a fun winter’s day, and topping it off was the double rainbow; one hovering on either side of the highway as if to guide travelers through the storm. Mountain snow against the desert floor. Rainbows glistening in the sun. It was dazzling, a dream almost, but hadn’t it always been this way?

I suppose it is really nothing new. Things I have seen throughout my life I’m sure but never really paid much attention to. The California desert is really such an amazing place, and I highly recommend a jaunt through it, especially in winter, but I also urge you to stop and look around today wherever you may be. Whether something makes you stop in your tracks or not, take a minute or two and try to catch a glimpse of some things you may have been missing. They’ve probably been right in front of you all along, but never quite as beautiful as when you take the time to enjoy them.

Reprinted from my blog at a national travel magazine