Little Things

I love the little things.  I love a cool fall breeze blowing leaves off the trees, I love fuzzy blankets and cute, furry otters.  I love cute notes from my boyfriend and random texts from my Grandma in the middle of my school day.

The list is so long, you'd get bored enough to fall asleep if I listed everything. But I want to talk about the little things today.

When I say "little things" I mean the minutia that you encounter that just makes you inexplicably happy.  And it's not an exuberant happy either.  It's like a peaceful happy.  It's like you're in a peaceful trance but you're not.  Everything just seems right with the world and you're 100% calm and relaxed.  Because I like words, the word for that is "Ataraxy".  (Cool word of the week)

I've found that when I choose to focus on those sweet little things like tea and a mountain of fuzzy blankets, I tend to be more relaxed and life is just easier to live.  It's much easier to get through a tough math assignment when I'm sipping tea.  It's so much nicer working on an unpleasant task when someone sends me a text that makes me smile.  And even if it's cold out, I still love walking to class when the breeze sends leaves skittering around me like confetti...like nature is celebrating my existence.

That kind of thing isn't something that you just have inherently.  It's a choice to view little things as little rays of sunshine in your life.  Some people would feel a cold breeze and think, "I hate this cold weather.  Ugh I'm so miserable!" I just pull my sleeves down and enjoy the fall colors.  It's all a matter of perspective, and it's not easy to keep your attitude up.

No one is perfect.  Sometimes it's easier just to grumble about the cold, pout about a difficult assignment, and moan about the unfairness of life.  But you know what that does for you?  Nothing.

Correction.  It does do something for you.  It makes you bitter and alone.  Who wants to be around a negative and grouchy person all the time?  Certainly not me. So every day, make the decision to find the little things to be happy about.  You'll feel better, and everyone else around you might too.