this is a journal prompt i made up of things that are breathtaking to me. i like to sit back and imagine things i really enjoy and think “how lovely, the thought of that thing. i can feel it just take my breath away.” it might be in order of most breathtaking to least, but im really not sure. i will consider it a stream of consciousness list.

1. a hawk, an eagle, a falcon, any bird of prey really. when i see these things sometimes i get into car accidents because i cannot take my eyes off them-the way they soar and how majestic they are. they make me completely forget about myself.
2. pine forests in or after the rain. this might be the most wonderful thing to me. there is nothing like walking in the woods, especially pine groves, during or after the rain-the smell of it, the dampness in the air, or the colors that seem to change after everything has been watered and saturated. it may be one of the only silent places that i feel i could stay in forever.
3. rainbows. yup, cliche but still.
4. driving through colorado in a lightening storm. every time this happens to me its pretty much the most incredible thing ive ever experienced. the colors in the sky and the flat land make it so that you can see literally a hundred or more miles across the landscape and get a full 360 degree front row seat to whatever is happening in the sky. oh my goodness it may be one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen. highly recommend doing this a lot.
5. stars in a cowboy-type sky. you know exactly what im talking about. the kind of sky cowboys always are having a campfire under. when im out in the middle of nowhere and there are no lights anywhere for decades of miles and there is a big open sky that you get to lay under and stare up at. when you realize what a multitude of stars there really are that you never really get to see at this capacity, and you are reminded of how incredibly infinite the universe is. i dream of some day sleeping under this in a sleeping bag as long as i dont get bit by a snake.
6. gems, stones and rocks. jewelry and precious stones are stunning, but going to a museum of natural history and seeing a collection of these things on display, their greatness and variety, the massive sizes they come in, the light they reflect… i cannot even express how these displays make me feel. i could spend hours getting lost looking at gemstones. they make me want to leave my life behind and pursue rockhounding.
7. peach roses. all roses are a beautiful thing, but there has always been something about peach roses to me. i planted them in my yard-the english type-and yes, i “stop and smell the roses” every time i see one bloom. no matter how stressed or overwhelmed or sad i am, when i see a rose (anywhere really) and stop to look at it, touch it, feel it-lean in to draw in a deep breath of it-an overwhelming peace comes over me. this is also true for bundles of roses at grocery stores and markets, they always draw me to themselves and i cannot keep myself from touching them and sometimes i even pick up bouquets and graze my cheek across the whole lot of them.
8. torrential downpours. the sound of downpours beating the earth, the street, the trees. the rives that run down the street. the pelting on skylights. the darkness that overtakes an otherwise bright day. the smell of the stirring of the earth and dust. torrential downpours leave me in awe. this is another loudly silent place i could spend forever in.

i will make a part two of this, because this is getting too long and theres at least four or five more that i know of. what are the things that really literally take your breath away?