Just when I was about to let the mundane invade my heart, trying its best to take me out of gratitude and into the “must dos” of the morning, I stepped out onto the patio into a soft rush of cool autumn air and my lungs said BREATHE! At that instant, a crispy brown sycamore leaf came floating down. Just the one leaf. It was saying,

pay attention to the important things; don’t miss these nudges from the Universe, from God, that all is as it should be. Breathe!

That’s all it took to flip the mood to gratitude. To joy. To anticipation of the coming winter, more leaves falling. Falling in bucketsful, piling up, giving me the gift of pulling on my leather gloves and grabbing my rough-handled rake.

That one leaf spiraling down whispered to me and my heart took notice.