Enjoy the small stuff
Find peace and joy througout the day
Ever heard about this book with the title:”Don't sweat the small stuff”? I never read it, but I can have a guess about the advice given there. Just the title is a good piece of advice. Don't bother about the small things, rather overlook any negative thing that is small enough to overlook. But... I have another advice to add to that: Pay good attention to the small things that are pleasing to you.
Most people have a tendency to get so busy that they constantly live with one foot in the future already. Their gaze is on what has to be done, their mind is busy working out the details of it. In the mean time they miss the “little flowers by the road”.
For those who have the eyes to see it, our days are filled with little miracles, sweet moments and beautiful creations. Many of these things cross our path daily or weekly and are for that simple reason no longer noticed and enjoyed.
Take for example:
-The exhilarating joy of your dog when you come home.
-The ugly plant in the corner who produced a flower today.
-The smile of a stranger on the street.
-The nice weather today.
-The health of your body.
-The sight of a clean counter after you finished the dish wash.
-The little daisy's in the grass (and on this website :p )
The possibilities are endless if you open your mind to see the smaller joy in life. By focusing your attention upon it, the feeling of joy expands.
The amount of peace and joy that you experience from a certain situation is more dependent on your attention to it, than to the exact contents of the happening. Winning the lottery brings no joy for as long as you ignore it. To lay down near a little flower in the park and to drink each detail of its beauty with your eyes will bring you lots of joy... and peace of mind.
To go to the playground and watch your child enjoy the swing can bring so much joy. Yet many parents spent that time gazing in front of them while their mind rattles on about what needs to be done or what bad things happened yesterday. They won't turn their attention to their child until it falls and cries.
The best way of becoming aware of all the sweet little goodies in life is by writing them down.
Every day in the evening, take a pen and paper and write down at least 5 nice things that happened that day. If you are having trouble finding 5 things than think smaller. Look for the little things that were good.
In case some of the things that you write down seem to small to you then pay some more attention to them. Enlarge the joy that you find in them by putting more focus. Discribe to yourself all the good details about the topic and why you like it.
During your day, keep your eyes open for things that you can write down in the evening. You can even go for a conscious hunt for things to write down in the evening.
Go to a nice store to try out a fancy dress and enjoy how it looks on you before you put it back in the racks. Enjoy the thought of “one day” buying it and how it would feel to wear it on a certain party.
Walk on the street and smile at some strangers, enjoy their reaction. In the evening describe the nicest reaction you got.
Make somebody a compliment and linger in the feeling of satisfaction that you might have caused to that person.
Be creative and make your days a hunt for little pleasures to bring you endless peace and joy. Find them wherever you go in any situation. You can even find them in situations that are unpleasant.
When you get wet in the rain, enjoy the fresh feeling on your skin and the thought of a warm shower at home.
Once you have been noting down your pleasures for some days, you can start reading them back. This you will do naturally, because it simply feels good. You can regularly re-live all those nice moments by thinking back of it.
Go to sleep with that nice feeling and your night will be well rested and tomorrow already made a good start.
Elisa (Twitter-alias: Elisa_507)
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