The Simple Things in Life

One of my friends wrote her blog today about some of the special things she has and loves. Check it out here if you want to read more.

Anyway - having worked all night and having read her blog, I went to bed with it on my mind. I lay in bed thinking about what  photos I would take when my camera batteries had recharged. A few things came to mind immediately but as I lay there and thought more about it, I realised they were all, almost without exception linked in some way to my friends or family. This of course led me to thinking about what is important in my life (have I ever mentioned I tend to think a lot!)

And that's when the penny  dropped, it's not so much the 'things' that are important, although I like and covert 'things' as much as the next person. What is important are those simple things, the things we remember long after the event, those special moments, times that make our life what it is, and makes the hustle and bustle and the sometimes every-day-ness of life just a little bit more tolerable. 

It's those 'ahhhhhh' moments when you can enjoy a few minutes peace, or when you look at a wonderful view and remember just how amazing our world is. 

It's the hug you get from your son for no apparent reason, or the thoughtfulness of another because they know you are tired. It's the remembering the funny and sad and special moments of people who are no longer here. It's when you see your husband in an expression, or a mannerism of one of your sons and you smile and remember.

It is listening to music you love, music that takes you to another place, that gives you a sense of peace and calmness no matter what is happening in the world!

 

Hallelujah - Il Divo

It's being able to sit on the beach and watch the waves roll in and out and think about what ever you want, or not think at all. 

It's the smell of toast cooking in the middle of a night at work, or the smell of fresh laundry 

and the feel of slipping in between freshly washed sheets at night. 

It's the first days of Spring when the world feels new again and it smells fresh and clean after the cold of winter.

It's the warmth of the sun on your face, the smell of newly cut grass, the sound of rain on the roof.

It's sitting down with your family for a meal and istening to them talk about their day. It's the silly family bickering and teasing that is just fun and not in any way malicious, but is something that shows their love and connection to each other. It's hearing your child's laughter. 

It is friends, who know you have had a bad day without you having said a word and who are there through good times, but even more so in the not so good times.

It is so many things ... and each and every day will bring something else that will make us stop and appreciate being alive. The trick is to take the time and really appreciate them. Our world is so busy and our lives so full of 'stuff' .. stuff to do, stuff to buy, stuff that takes our focus away from what it really is that makes our lives worth living.

My new goal is to take at least 10 minutes every day and stop and just be. To think about the simple things and be grateful before once again, I get caught up in the rush that is my life. I am going to take the time to appreciate my family, and to tell them, and I am going to focus  on the good and, not be so caught up in the 'bad' or the negative things, that I forget just what a wonderful life I really do have!

EDIT: 3 minutes after posting this blog: I just went to check out my friend Gill's next blog and now I have another thing I need to add - it is having a friend so in tune with you that without realising it and with out discussion we posted almost exactly the same blog using the same idea!! 

Feeling of the Day: Thankful

Song of the Day: Simple Things - Usher