Everyday Joy

I have a theory about life. (I have several theories, but those for another time.)  One of my theories is that you must enjoy the small every day moments.  I thought this long before The Secret came into fashion.  The reason behind my theory is simple: The big moments in life don’t happen very often.  We don’t have life changing events every day.  So in between, you must find the beauty in the ordinary, the perfection in the routine and love in the mundane.

To do this you must have a love for life in general, and you must be present. That means putting the phone down and participating in the conversations, noticing the people and things around you.  It means taking the time to appreciate what is in front of you.

While it would be great if wonderful, amazing, life changing things happens every day, but the fact of the matter is that they don’t. Or would it be great?  I don’t think it would actually. Because at some point, we need the dust to settle, even after those wonderful moments and events.  Because life is truly found in the quiet everyday moments.

We must get into the habit of falling in love with life every day.  And that does take effort, at least at first until it becomes a habit. A habit to take a moment and look around, enjoy a beautiful day, or your favorite song on the radio, or a good meal or glass of wine.  A perfect sunset, or crawling in the bed with clean sheets after a long hot shower.  It could be as simple as a phone call and good conversation with a friend you haven’t talked to in a while. Or seeing some pretty flowers by the roadside.  Magic can be found all around us, in those quiet every day moments.

And when you notice the little things, something else starts to happen – they start to build up.  And soon you notice even more little things.  It may sound simple. And it is.  But there is a saying about the best hiding place being in plain sight.  That is because what is in plain sight is often over looked.  Think of all that we miss when we only look in the distance, or look in complicated places.

“That which you seek is also seeking you.” – Rumi

Part of moving forward for me is getting back in the habit of seeing that everyday joy.  Of purposefully and internationally seeking it.  And it will be there, to meet me. I am the happiest when giving of myself to others, and while that is being set up by God and the Universe, I will see the miracles in everyday life.  That will keep me happy, focused and striving to be better every day.  It helps feed my wanderlust for life and appetite for curiosity.  Seeking the everyday joy feeds my sold and makes me smile.