Sometimes it’s the little things that really matter.

 

Frankly, I don’t know what to write today. I want to say something uplifting, helpful and reassuring. But, I’m afraid, it’s just not there for me and maybe, not for you either. What’s going on around us is beyond words. And yet, words are more important now than ever. 

We have to stick together and one of the ways to do that is with words and acts of love and appreciation and caring. It doesn’t have to be grand, in fact, the smaller the better.

Little acts of love. 

During my illness and recovery period, I crocheted. I made hats with fuzzy yarn and smooth yarn. Small hats and medium hats and large hats. All different colors. I gave them out to my children and grandchildren but after a while I had made more hats than they could use. So I looked around for a place where hats and scarves were needed. 

This week, I was able to bring my hats and scarves to a center for women and children in my own neighborhood that I didn’t even know was there. I was greeted with excitement and told that one hat would fit one of their babies right away. It brought happy tears to my eyes to know that my little white hat was going to keep a little one warm. 

Little signs of life. 

On my daily walks through the neighborhood, I look for signs of spring. It’s still pretty cold here but this week, I saw this old, old tree. I stopped. This old tree has bark missing and limbs broken. It’s shorter than I am and I’m short. But even with all of these wounds and breaks, it is blooming.

This week, this tree is sign of life proving that even broken things can bloom again.  

Little creative acts. 

One of my favorite birds is the crow. They are powerful birds who live together and take care of each other. They build nests in our huge cedar tree, break the ice and drink from our patio cover and call out to each other and chat throughout the day. 

With everything that’s going on, I didn’t feel like creating. But the crows insisted, I think. Because one day, I took out my pen, paper and watercolors and next thing I knew, a crow had landed on my studio table. 

Yes. Little acts of love and signs of life and crows are the things that really matter. 

Remembering Gratefulness.

Quiet. Soft Lights. A warm fire. Music flowing around me. A puppy snoozing on my feet. 

These are some of the things I am grateful for today. 

In this season of busyness and bargain buying, it’s wonderful to sit and savor the simple things in my life. I want to appreciate it all not just right now or today but everyday. It’s not an easy task to keep my focus with all the loud tweets, posts, commentaries made around me. I try to tune it out, but it sneaks in, under and around my life anyway. 

Gratefulness. 

I believe seeing the good around the bad in our country, world and universe is essential. It is a lifeline to sanity. A path to peace. A journey that reveals the true purpose to living each day beyond basic survival. 

This is why I started a gratefulness journal many years ago. I didn’t want to spend my days hearing and seeing only the bad words and difficult people. I didn’t want my critical monkey mind to derail me. I didn’t want to be blind to the beautiful little everyday things in my days. 

It’s easy to do. 

I keep a small book and pen by my bedside. And every night before I go to sleep, I write. It’s just a few lines, no big deal. After I write, I ask my husband the same question and I write down his answers too. 

Inside the book, at the top of every page are the words, Today, I am grateful for...

Yesterday it was a walk without rain, Greek potatoes for dinner, seeing the neighborhood holiday lights. For my husband, I wrote: relaxing day in front of the fire, walk with the puppy, getting the bamboo cut up. Today for me it’s a relaxing Sunday, a walk in the park, waffles with bacon, a puppy who follows me from room to room and lays on my feet to sleep. 

It’s so simple that I miss how important it is to me. It keeps from getting lost in this complex maze called life where I rush and worry and strive too much. I forget that each breath is a gift, each color a miracle, each sound magical and each puppy kiss a delight. 

Today, what are you grateful for?