I was looking for information last week that was supposed to be posted on a website.  When I logged in, I discovered that the post had not yet been added, so I closed the browser window and moved on to some other computer tasks.  At several intervals, I would return to the website to see whether the schedule I was looking for had been added.  Each time the promised post was nowhere to be found.  It was not until the fifth or sixth attempt that a thought occurred to me.  I directed my mouse to the upper menu bar of my browser and clicked on REFRESH.  The site reloaded, and the post I had been waiting for appeared.  All it needed was a fresh start.

Yesterday afternoon we had a wonderful, soaking rain.  There was no exciting lightning or thunder to announce its arrival.  The rain fell steadily and earnestly, but with no whipping winds to send it flying sideways.  I took a seat on the porch, sheltered by the roof, and took in the scene.  The lilac leaves that had taken on a dusty green color during the hot, dry days last week glistened as the heavenly water washed away the tiny dust particles that had landed on them as cars stirred up the surface of the dry roadway.  The kiwi vine danced as the rain hit its leaves and brought to life its long tendrils.  It might as well have been an underwater clump of kelp as it swayed in the shower that sent drop after drop of rain down the branches to drip off the tip of each leaf and into the ground.

How different things appear when they are refreshed!  I realized as I watched the vine dance in the refreshing rain that I need these moments, too.  It is too easy to become entrenched in seeing our lives from one point of view.  When we limit ourselves to seeing each day as exactly like the one before, we may miss the opportunity to change our perspective and delight in the way that refreshing our minds can transform the world we choose to perceive.  Boost your creativity!  Don’t let the puzzles that challenge you push you into a rut where you can only see them from one angle.  Climb out, look around, and realize that there may be new perspectives that will lead you to a solution.  All you need to do is refresh.