Simple Beauty.

I feel like most of our generation is missing out. Let me explain: it's my opinion that life is made up of small simple moments that make it worth living. Instead we as a generation believe (Or maybe we've been taught) that it's the big moments that make up life. We shove so much into our life that we're going from commitment to commitment without time to slow down. So many times we feel that if something isn't terribly complex and intricate that it's to simple to be of any value. We want books with terribly clever twist endings and movies with incredible CGI where you can see every hair on some exotic space alien's hide. I don't know, but to me sometimes it seems like life's getting to complicated. Cellphones are a perfect example. I understand that cellphones are a pretty good idea (For the record I hate cellphones, but they're almost a necessity nowadays.) but do we really need a cellphone that connects to the internet, contains 8 gigs of music, texts, e-mails, rings with a horrible ringtone of some song that's been compressed nearly beyond recognition, and has a camera?
I guess what I'm saying is that in life maybe we need to embrace the simple moments. For example a moment I'll always remember happened to me about two years ago as I was riding back home from Live Oak. I was coming up to the outskirts of Tallahassee and there was a lot of construction and traffic was congested. I remember though that it was a great day for a ride; the sun was out, the sky was blue, puffy cumulus clouds littered the sky, and it was warm, but not hot. Now it bears mentioning before I continue that I am a people watcher especially in traffic. I think it's funny how most people think that when they're in their cars nobody else can see them. Now it was one of those days where you are around the same 12 or so cars for most of the trip. Throughout my ride I had noticed an old yellow Dodge van with three or four bicycles strapped to the back and one of those ex-cargo things on top (Thinking back it kind of reminds me of the van in Little Miss Sunshine). I remember the van so well because I tend to look out for stuff that at any moment may come flying off a vehicle and hit me. The first time I passed I noticed that it was a mom and her kids on some sort of road trip, it was obvious because all the kids had that look that kids get when they've been confined to small spaces for a long time and are plotting a way to wreak havoc. A little later when I was passing them again and starting to come up to speed I looked over and it was the van again as I looked over one of the kids, a little girl who was maybe 8, smiled and waved. It was just one of those moments. As I was accelerating away I waved back and there was just a feeling of happiness. In that moment everything lined up. That's all that happened. No huge event, just a wave. Thinking back throughout my life these are some of the moments that really stick with me, the simple ones; a smell of food cooking, a smile, a stupid joke, or just laying in the grass watching clouds. So let's all embrace those moments for what they are, because maybe they're the best things in life.