I’m sitting on the seventh floor of the university library in town. All is quiet as students are studying for final exams. The sun is setting against the mountains, causing the windows on the west side of the library to burn bright orange.

A young lady stands in the landing in front of the elevators. She looks similar to how I imagine the protagonist in my novel to look. She has pretty features with long black hair and light tan skin. As she stands there gripping her stack of books, the sun shines through the windows at just the right angle to eclipse her in golden sunshine. It outlines her black hair and causes me to stare longer than I probably should. After a few seconds, she enters the elevator and leaves without a clue that she had ever been eclipsed by sunshine.

How many times in life do we go about our daily routines without realizing that we’re eclipsed by majesty? How many times do we ignore the simple wonders around us–the bright orange sun setting against the hills, the steam rises from the neighbors’ roofs in the morning, the stars turning black skies into dreamy seas of glitter.

Life is beautiful y’all. And sometimes we forget that.

What’s a simple wonder that you’ve seen lately?