While our vision may worsen with age as mine has, it has also become more sensitive to beauty. At a younger age, I was so self-absorbed that I missed all the beautiful things life and nature had to offer.

When I hiked I was so obsessed with the mileage and getting my workout that I missed the wondrous trails, trees, flowers, waterfalls and rivers. The time spent at the beach was mostly spent tanning, missing the astonishing colors of the waters, the calming sound of the waves and how soft the sand felt on my bare feet.

Now, I feel as if I have awoken to a new set of eyes that autofocus on the smallest most beautiful details. I will now stop in the street, kneel down and inspect a flower my eyes have suddenly fallen upon. On trails, I take my time watching nature in all its glory. At the beach, I walk along the shore and watch the waves crash on the sand as they come and cover my feet. Sunsets have become ever-changing works of art waiting to be enjoyed in quiet meditative solitude.

It is now, at fifty that I can appreciate beauty more than ever before. And I believe it is my new selflessness that is allowing me to enjoy beauty undistracted, absorbing it slowly and more consciously as one would savor a delicacy. I’m delighted to now see, all I’ve been missing.