One of my favorite groups on Facebook is called, View From My Window. It’s so simple and…unifying. There’s something about seeing where we live that makes us “real” to each other. People from around the world post pictures of the views from their homes and suddenly, it’s about interacting with a human being who gets up in the morning, looks out on their view on good days and bad days, and wonders if they are important. They eat, sleep, hug, and cry. They wash their dishes and walk their dogs or visit their neighbors. Instead of yelling at someone via our keyboard and spouting off opinions, this group removes our opinions and reminds us that we are people with blood in our veins, hurts in our hearts, and longing in our souls.

While I haven’t posted my own photos to this group yet, I was initially drawn to it because I love the view from my back step. I faithfully go out there every morning and most evenings. It’s my slice of heaven and I tell everyone who visits that this place is my gift from God.

A moment every morning on my back step is my secret space, grounding point, a place of focus, reset, & peace. This is the starting line for my day. Moments on my back step calm my mind and where I press pause. If I get stressed, I go to my back step and take in the views. Instantly I forget what’s ruffling my feathers or demanding my attention like wide-mouthed baby birds in a nest.

It’s where I watch storms roll in over the lake or the tips of waves glisten like diamonds in the sunshine. Only inches from my crazy, busy world, this step – with a noticeably worn spot faded and smooth from my plump hindquarters – insulates me from the call of the world and wraps me in the comfort of the thick, leafy woods which spread out before me as rolling waves of green, accented only by the chameleon waters of the lake which can look like snow, glass, fire, or water sprites, depending on the day.

I don’t want to move. Let me just stay here with the view from my back step and enjoy my insulated life for one more moment.