Don’t forget to enjoy the little things
Don’t forget to enjoy the little things
“I who am blind can give one hint to those who see: Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind. And the same method can be applied to the other senses. Hear the music of voices, the song of a bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra, as if you would be stricken deaf tomorrow. Touch each object as if tomorrow your tactile sense would fail. Smell the perfume of flowers, taste with relish each morsel, as if tomorrow you could never smell and taste again. make the most of every sense; glory in the beauty which the world in all the facets of pleasure reveals to you…”
― Helen Keller
Today the world revealed itself in full technicolor, as I rounded the corner to feel the warm summer sun on my face. Golden light peeked out behind the full green leaves of the park trees. The grass reflected the sun through thousands of tiny binoculars, remnants of the generous showers of a sprinkler system. The sun shone brightly in the mid-morning journey across the sky, and it felt awe-inspiring.
Has the grass always been such a carpet of verdant green, shimmering with such spectacular brilliance? Has each droplet always been a magical peek into a carnival of color, reflecting the world behind it? Has the sun always created such magic, here to be marveled at?
Today the world revealed the movements of life around me, unnoticed in the rush of life. Gifts of fluffy white-tailed bunnies, bounding away as they heard my approach. The desert wash provides delicious food and safe shelter for the soft creatures. I stopped, they stopped. Cautious, their long ears twitching, sensing my next step. What joy filled my heart as I wondered at their cleverness.
Around every turn, a covey of quail made me laugh aloud. Their resplendent plumes atop their heads contradict their very awkward retreat. They move to and fro in waves, the tiniest always seeming a step behind their parents. They were precious.
Have the bunnies and quail always been so abundant around me, driving by in my car? Have I missed the more ordinary joys in my surroundings, when my head is cluttered with nagging worries?
Returning home, the call of the roadrunner mysteriously seemed like the best ventriloquist act in history. NO matter where the head turned, they call shifted in the morning breeze. In the yard the powerful purr of hummingbirds staking their claim, whirred up and around and back. Soft, loud, soft. They are bold about their territory.
Have the birds always sang gloriously, unnoticed by a hurried to do list? Have hummingbirds always been watching, hoping for a safe shelter to sip nectar?
Perhaps things are always this way.
Why I appreciate the small things in life
I think that after seasons of darkness…despair, especially, these captivating gifts nearly bring you to your knees in awe. The ordinary sacred. We are invited to approach, day after day. Year after year.
And yet, when times are deemed good, it is easy to celebrate the big things while bypassing the minute joys all around.
We should celebrate, the big things. But, in our celebrations, let us not forget to notice the very smallest gifts.
Creating these moments gives us pause for the mundane days, the ordinary, everyday life that we get caught up in the less important. The urgent.
All the while, our surroundings beckon us closer.
How do we learn to enjoy the small things?
There is joy to be found, deep true, and profound delight in our life when we stop and look for the small things. Creating a practice of observation enhances our experience of cultivating an extraordinary life.
Simply by stopping to notice.
I call these microjoys, these moments of pause. They are the building blocks in my experience to loving my imperfect life.
Engage in your world with intent and gather these moments like sweet blossoms in a bouquet, to take the deepest inhalation of God’s goodness.
Simple joys strengthen our spirit of contentment. We become grateful for the small things, determined to find gladness. Microjoys are a study in the tiniest of beauties, often by determination to not let the hard times beat us.
An acute awareness of beauty shifts our focus from our circumstance to the bigger picture. And there is always a bigger picture.
“Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” —Kurt Vonnegut
Books I love about loving an ordinary life
- Turning of days
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