We all have moments in our lives that take our breath away. We pause our conversation, pull off to the side of the road or just mentally stop time. These moments impact us, even if we don't initially know why.

A colorful scene atop a mountain, the yellow sun rising to meet the pink sky with all of its shades found in between. A swan effortlessly spreading its wings to take off from the still pond it has been settled in. Horses galloping through the windy field, sounding more like an approaching thunderstorm than hooves beating the ground.

These moments move us. They are thought-provoking and soul-enhancing.

We may find ourselves wondering how these simple scenarios bring about so many emotions. Why would something that happens every single day affect us now?

Because we didn't notice it before. Because it happens with or without our attention. The sun will rise to create a picturesque sky and the swan will fly from pond to pond and the horses will gallop across that field every single day. So why did we notice today?

Because something caused us to stop, listen and look. Something that happened yesterday, or this morning, changed our today. Something made us want to see the things that happen around us differently. It could have been an article you read in the newspaper, a phone call you received from an old friend or a dream you recently had. Whatever it was, it changed your perspective ever so slightly, yet enough to avert your attention to the little things.

Once you begin to pay the little things attention, you will notice them more and more. You begin to realize there is beauty in every day. The trick is to look for it.

Sometimes it's hidden behind a bad day or a sticky situation. Sometimes it's hidden behind a stressful time with work or a dispute with a family member. Sometimes it's hidden behind our attitude or self-confidence. Sometimes it is easy to see and other times we must look a little harder to find it. Though when we finally do see it, we wonder how we could have been missing it all these years.

Once in a while we have a moment that seems to overtake the rest. By this, I mean it happened somewhere special or with someone special. It is something you replay over and over and over again in your mind. Maybe it happened at a place you know you will never return to. Maybe you spent it with someone you fear you will never see again. Whatever it was, these kind of moments are the best ones of your life.

When you take a deep breath, and for the first time in a long time, you feel OK. When you realize how much you have grown up, how much things have changed and you appreciate all of the hard times just as much as you appreciate the good ones. When you finally understand that he left your life for a reason, you grew apart from her because you are growing up and your dreams as a child have not rolled over into these years because they were replaced with realistic goals that you are working toward.

Each one of these moments, no matter how small or how large, shape us. They are instances overflowing with reflection, realization and growth.

What we see during these times generates the thought, how we see it coins the moment.