I talked a lot in August about appreciating the little things during my summer. So I do have my eyes open to small beauties in my life. For the first time in a while I notice when my 3-year-old reaches for my hand (instead of the other way around), when my flowers inch taller before they even start blooming, the way the moss is growing between the cracks in my front sidewalk, my cat’s footfalls down the hallway at night, the moment when my children share a secret with each other.
Noticing the little things makes time slow, which feels so important with all the rushing I seem to be doing. But today’s inspirations reminded me of something important. Noticing the world around me means nothing if I don’t appreciate all the beauty in it. I want to appreciate it, internalize it, and then be so thankful for all that I have. I should be overflowing with gratitude for the gift of my children, but I slip into annoyance too easily. And I should be grateful for the food on my table, that I have a house to live in, that I live comfortably. These things I sometimes forget. I should be thankful for my marriage and my husband, but it’s an easy relationship to un-prioritize.
“Happiness, more often than not,” Roman wrote on Life Pulp today, “is hidden in the things we take for granted.” And he’s exactly right.
In other words, by recognizing and appreciating and focusing on what I typically look over, those little things, I can find happiness. But it’s not enough just to be aware. That awareness has to lead somewhere. Awareness must spark gratitude. It’s the gratitude that counts, and it’s the acknowledgement of all the wonderful, beautiful, amazing, fantastic things in my life that will shift my attitude and outlook.
How could I not be positive when I recognize all I have to be grateful for?
My very favorite inspiration today was this one, posted by May.
i agree. feeling blessed means KNOWING your life is blessed.
You’re right, Kathy. But I don’t know why recognizing my blessings is so difficult sometimes.