No matter where you are, Circumspice!

All Michiganders know that the state motto is the Latin phrase, “Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam, circumspice” which translate to English as, “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.” Merriam Webster says look “around” you. Either way you get the idea. The motto appears on the state flag and state seal. Oh, Webster also says it’s pronounced “Koon-spi’-kah.” Who knew?

Michigan, in reality, has two pleasant peninsulas to look around. Upper and Lower. Both, in my humble opinion, drop-dead gorgeous.

I was born in, and lived much of my life, in my beloved Michigan. But, as I look back, I didn’t “circumspice” enough to appreciate where I was.

Does this sound familiar? You get up in the morning, answer nature’s call, brush your teeth, take a shower, dress, grab a bite and hop in the car. You drive the same route every day to your job. Work all day, probably indoors, then back in the car and drive the same route home every day.

Your evening routine is also just that, a routine. Dinner, Jeopardy, chat with family, read, bedtime.

Next day, repeat today.

I did that for years. And when I moved to Virginia for a job change, I did the same thing here for quite a while. That was life. But was it really living? I was too busy and distracted to know.

Then one day a few years ago, as I was driving locally, I saw a bush in full bloom. It was obviously not the first blooming bush I had ever seen. But, in a way, it was. For some reason, the full beauty of those flowers hit me like a two-by-four to the head. I actually pulled the car over and stared at the beauty for a minute. Googling later told me it was a hydrangea.

That was an awakening of sorts for me. It dawned on me like never before that beauty was all around me in countless forms and I needed to look around, see and enjoy it.

The Commonwealth of Virginia (The cops are still STATE police. Go figure.) is just far enough south that the climate is warmer and the growing season longer than Michigan. Consequently, there are things that grow here that don’t like Michigan winters and so there’s something blooming all the time. All the way through the holidays.

And now I notice. And enjoy.

Starting in mid-March with the daffodils, then the tulips, then tree blossoms, then azaleas of every color, roses, hydrangeas, etc., etc. I don’t even know the names of most of them.

But beauty, of course, is not confined to flora alone. There are zillions of other forms of beauty as well.

I love watching the whitetail deer in my yard. Br-er Fox makes an occasional appearance along with squirrels, chipmunks and birds of countless breeds. The Virginia state bird, the cardinal, is a frequent visitor as are robins, Michigan’s state bird.

Trees, large and small, blooming and not blooming, are everywhere. And they put on quite a show in the fall, though Michigan fall colors are second-to-none.

Recently on Elm Place, nearby, I saw a man walking hand-in-hand with his little daughter. He was pointing something out to her wondering eyes. Beautiful. A mom pushing a stroller with an infant. Beautiful. People smiling and chatting with one another. Blue sky and even rain. All beautiful.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I have learned to see and appreciate the beauty that surrounds me every day. Especially my beautiful bride, Sue.

I hope you do the same. So, wherever you are CIRCUMSPICE and see all that’s pleasant around you.

Contact Rick at tct@pageone-inc.com