I’m so tired this morning. It’s difficult to wake up to write in my journal. Glad it’s Friday! The little joys in life are what make me smile, like a cup of warm coffee, freshly ground, with pumpkin pie spice creamer. Yum! Maybe this will wake me up.
Other little joys are:
– a soft warm cat to cuddle
– playing footsy in bed
– the glow of a harvest moon
– a song that’s been in my head, playing on the radio
– the taste of a juicy, sweet watermelon
– grass beneath my toes
– a good, clean joke that makes me laugh every time I think of it.
– a crackling fire on a cold night
– the smell of fallen leaves and pine as I walk through the woods
– catching sight of a zooming hummingbird
– a fuzzy bathrobe
These are just a few of the little things that make me feel alive. None of them cost a lot of money or are difficult to come by. I just need to stop a moment in my busy day to notice them. The little joys are all around me. They change depending on where I am or who I’m with but they are there just the same. Gifts from God.
Happiness can be elusive but joy is a choice. It’s the choice to look at life through a different lens. A photographer knows what I mean. A scene that to most is just ordinary comes to life for them. They see the color, the form, the way the shadows fall that come together to make a beautiful photograph. Their eyes are trained to see the world in a unique way.
How we look at the world will determine what we see and what we experience. No matter what our circumstance, there will be little joys if we open our senses to them. Even if we are in a dark place, with no sounds or smells, our mind can take us to a place of joy. It can recall a memory with all the colors, smells and sounds, as if it is real.
Louie Zamperini in his story “Unbroken” as told by Laura Hillenbrand, tells of when he was adrift on a raft in the Pacific ocean with 2 other men after their plane crashed.during WWII. They had no food but the few fish and birds they could catch and had no water except when it rained. They played a game of recalling memories. Louie would recount in detail an Italian meal served by his mother back in California. Dish by dish, they would relish this imaginary meal. One would think that this would be counterproductive to dream of a meal they might never eat again but it wasn’t. It was these memories that kept them alive and gave them hope. Two of the 3 airmen, Louie and Phil, survived 46 days at sea unfortunately to be then captured by the Japanese. They both survived another 2 years in a brutal POW camp. Louie just passed away this last summer. He was in his 90’s.
The mind is a powerful thing. Our mind is a gift but we can use it against ourselves if we choose. Paul said to the church of Philippi in Greece, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praise worthy-think upon such things.” In other words, keep your mind on the positive, not the negative parts of life. What we allow our minds to dwell on, will rule our day. So I choose today to let my thoughts dwell on the little joys of life. No one can take these away from me but myself.
