Slow down for a second, take a deep breath, maybe close your eyes.

Do you remember a time when the beauty before or around you woke you up with wonder? Maybe it stole your breath or even left you teary-eyed?

I’ve had many experiences like that, whether in nature, the arts, the unexpected, and even the ordinary. And you probably have too.

Recently, on Facebook, I asked Glimsen readers and friends to tell me, tell us, about moments like that they won’t forget.

So many of you responded (thank you!) that I have more than enough responses to fill up a few blog posts. You can read the first post here.

If you haven’t shared yours yet, there’s still time to respond, either on Facebook here by leaving your comment (and a photo, if possible) or by messaging me. You could also email me if you prefer. I’d love to do more posts like this in the future.

Are you ready? Here we go!

Lisa Beveridge says that Great Exuma in the Bahamas is the most beautiful place she has ever visited. “You can walk out so far on the sandbars with no one else on the beaches.”

Her husband Allen took the drone photo at the top of this post on a family vacation. Lisa, their daughter, and a friend are pictured on the sandbar. “I would love to go back,” she says. “We rented a car and rode to different beaches every day.” At the time, only a handful of other people were around. Sounds like a personal paradise for them.

Thirty years ago, on a September trip to Wyoming, Jan Dillehay had hoped to see aspen trees in their full fall glory but unfortunately, she arrived too early in the season. “I was so disappointed.”

But 28 years later, she finally got her chance on an early October trip to Utah. “It was like hitting the jackpot!” she says. “The perfect crisp fall weather, gorgeous blue skies, and the gold on the trees as we drove through the mountains brought me near tears. The wait made the experience all the more sweeter! The beauty could only come from God.”

As a young man, Jeff Cumbie served in the Coast Guard. One night, when he was on watch several hundred miles off shore, he saw ball lightning for the first time. “A roundish ball of light about a couple of meters around came out of the sky, went down to the water, flew parallel just above the water, and went back into the clouds,” he said. “It happened several times. I should have been scared but it was awesome and beautiful. When it was over, all I could think was that God has [created] so much cool stuff.”

For Olivia Toledano, seeing the mountains of Alaska from the air was unforgettable. “The peak of Denali is stunning as well—it’s the tallest in North America—but I loved the texture of some of the others. Honeymooning across Alaska rather than at the beach was spectacular. Zero regrets!”

Barbara Beck will never forget her drive south down the Pacific Coast Highway from Monterrey to Big Sur. She said it was a spiritual experience for her. “The grandeur of the majestic mountains on my left were huge and straight up, right beside the highway, so big they blocked the sky.” They spoke to her of the power and strength and authority of God. "The vastness of the ocean on the right, the unknown and sense of adventure, brought to mind His omniscience, His greatness.” She said it’s hard for her to describe, but she “experienced a deeper sense of knowing Him on that drive.”

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Experiences like these can awaken us to spiritual things, inspire us, give us perspective, even change our lives.

All we have to do is slow down, look around with fresh eyes, and seek out places where beauty dwells, whether it’s on a trip to the mountains or the sea or even walking in your neighborhood park. You just never know when you might be left wide-eyed with wonder.

Where have you experienced beauty lately?

Thank you for reading Glimsen, where I write about the beauty around us in nature, the arts, and the unexpected. If you like this post, sign up below to get a free gift of beauty and receive my blog posts in your inbox. Add more beauty to your life by signing up today.