Thanksgiving is a time for counting our blessings. Most years I tend to focus on the large gifts God has bestowed on me. A warm house. Loving relationships with friends and family. Good health. And the means to earn a living. While these are all fine reasons for gratefulness, it’s the little joys in life that make me smile, like a cup of warm coffee, freshly ground, with coconut milk and honey. Yum!
Yes, it’s important to express thankfulness for the big stuff. But isn’t the small stuff just as essential to our wellbeing?
Some of my favorite little joys in life are:
– a soft warm cat to cuddle
– playing footsy in bed
– the glow of a harvest moon
– a song that’s been in my head, playing on the radio
– the taste of a juicy, sweet watermelon
– grass beneath my toes
– a good, clean joke that makes me laugh every time I think of it.
– a crackling fire on a cold night
– the smell of fallen leaves and pine as I walk through the woods
– catching sight of a zooming hummingbird
– cuddling up in a fuzzy bathrobe
These are just a few of the special moments that make me feel alive. None of them cost a lot of money or are difficult to come by. I just need to take a pause in my busy day to notice them. The little joys in life are all around me. They change depending on where I am or who I’m with, but they are there just the same. Pocket sized gifts from God.
Happiness can be elusive but joy is a choice. It’s the choice to look at life through a different lens. A photographer knows what I mean. A scene that to most is just ordinary comes to life for them. They see the color, the form, the way the shadows fall that come together to make a beautiful photograph. Their eyes are trained to see the world in a unique way.
How we look at the world will determine what we see and what we experience. No matter what our circumstance, there will be little joys if we open our senses to them. Even if we are in a dark place, with no sounds or smells, our mind can take us to a place of joy. It can recall a memory with all the colors, smells and sounds, as if it is real.
Louie Zamperini in his story Unbroken as told by Laura Hillenbrand, tells of when he was adrift on a raft in the Pacific Ocean with two other men after their plane crashed during WWII. They had no food but the few fish and birds they could catch and had no water except when it rained. They played a game of recalling memories. Louie would recount in detail an Italian supper served by his mother back in California. Dish by dish, they would relish this imaginary meal.
One would think that this would be counterproductive to dream of food they might never eat again but it wasn’t. It was these memories that kept them alive and gave them hope. Two of the three airmen, Louie and Phil, survived 46 days at sea unfortunately to then be captured by the Japanese. They both survived another 2 years in a brutal POW camp. Louie Zamperini just passed away a few years ago. He was in his 90’s.
Memory is a powerful tool. Our mind is a gift, but we can use it against ourselves if we choose. Paul said to the church of Philippi in Greece, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think upon such things.”
In other words, keep your mind on the positive, not the negative parts of life. What we allow our minds to dwell on, will rule our day. So, I choose today to let my thoughts dwell on the little joys in life. No one can take these away from me but myself.
What is your focus for this Thanksgiving?
