My mother always used to say: "when you're feeling down, think of five good things about your life." Of course, those were the bigger things - your children, your health, your friends, your job, your faith. But there are small pleasures too....not as important individually but, collectively, they can mean a lot. Sort of like a charm bracelet of joy.
1) One example for me recently is the pot of spring flowers my friend, Jan, brought me. They were like a little daily miracle. At first, the daffodil buds only had a tiny spot of bright yellow on the tips but within a couple of days, the whole bud was yellow. The next day, they opened into bright bits of sunshine in the house.
Meanwhile, the tulip bulbs fattened, then bloomed. They too were butter yellow. Finally, the mauve hyacinths opened with the additional pleasure of their sweet fragrance that perfumed the whole room.
Since this has been a rather dreary spring outside, every day I looked forward to the pot of spring on the kitchen table.
2) Birds - Speaking of spring, the goldfinches are now truly gold again....and next month the hummingbirds will return, both adding charms to my bracelet of small good things..
3) I'm now addicted to shortbread cookies. It was actually the hospital Oncology Department that got me started. They offered me a snack to while away the time during my transfusion. They had Oreos and shortbread cookies. I took them only because I was bored. I sort of forgot how much I enjoyed them when I left the hospital, then LeAnn brought me some when she visited from Iowa and LeAnn, being LeAnn, these were much higher quality than the commercial grade from the hospital (not that I'm above eating plain old Lorna Doone's).
LeAnn has sent me more since. Shortbreads are the perfect nibbling cookie. Bite off the teddy bear's toe, then his belly, then his head. So satisfying with coffee or tea. I'm only sorry I didn't discover them before I was 72 years old!
4) When I retired, of course, my income plunged so I shut off almost all the automatic payments that came out of my bank account, like Ancestry which I'd paid for but never used, and Sirius Radio, because I didn't figure I'd be in the car that much. I belong to a site called Webshots. They feature different photos every day. It's pretty cheap - $20 for a year. Picking out my daily photo is something I look forward to every morning. Some days, it is kittens or wolves or spring flowers or snowy woods. There are beaches and sunsets and castles. I love seeing different places. I never knew Romania was so gorgeous! I decided I got enough daily enjoyment out of the anticipation of beautiful pictures that it was worth $25 so I made the choice to keep it.
5) When Brenda cleans my house, she leaves behind the spicy, fresh scent of Pinesol. That aroma make me feel so good. It is the epitome of clean.
Maybe these are all small in and of themselves but string them all together and they make life more joyful.
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