My morning routine is somewhat predictable- I wake up, get dressed, let out the dogs, pack my bag and make coffee for the road. I put on make-up, throw my hair in a knot, slide on a jacket and set the alarm.

Amid the streamline schedule sits an e-mail, waiting patiently in my inbox to be opened, and it truly has the ability to satisfy my soul even more than my piping hot travel mug.

Notes From The Universe ™ is an e-mail campaign that sends uplifting, personalized letters each day. Different from chains of quotations and powerful messages, it uses your name to tap into personal hopes, dreams, and desires.

Today, the Universe decided to pat me on the back, and it was ironically something that I really needed to receive.

We all get caught up in our routines; Sometimes they are the only things that keep us grounded in a crazy, chaotic world. But when I received this message before climbing into my car, it prompted me to reflect on the small instances that have made me smile in the past few days. I drove in silence and remembered my husband’s eyes light up after we painted our first set of kitchen cabinets, both beaming, full of pride at our hard work before us. I recalled my last conversation with my sister and with my best friend, full of jokes and laughter. I could practically hear the playful growls of my dog, could visualize his tail wagging as we played a game of tug-of-war on the living room floor this past Sunday. I thought of all of my closest friends under one roof on Friday night, doubled-over in hysterics over an intense game of Scattegories.

Last night was Halloween and my husband had to work late. In effort to continue with our home projects and help out around the house, I left my job early to clean, re-tape for the next undertaking, and pass out Halloween candy. Music played throughout the house, I ordered Chinese food and enjoyed working in solitude while I waited. Food arrived. The doorbell rang, once, and then twice, as Angels and Devils, Princesses and Zombies came to my door. It was a “treat” to see them all, and I was in good spirits when a knock rapped in the front and I opened to find my husband on the porch.

We kissed under the threshold and I smiled on his lips, reveling in how much I felt like a kid with such puppy love in my heart.

I forgot all of those feelings though, as I shuffled around my house this morning, bracing myself for traffic and a busy work load ahead. Those moments faded away because I didn’t take time to reflect on them, appreciate them, will them into my memory bank. In a world of to-do lists and ongoing agendas, it can be hard to pause and dissect both large and small extraordinary encounters, where the Universe places positivity in your path.

 But with the help of just a simple reminder, I was able to shed light on the fact that there is a lot of good around me. Things do in fact keep getting better and better: I couldn’t have said it better, myself.