Pluck the day so proclaimed the great Roman poet Horace. Indeed, life is all about seizing small moments of happiness. Carpedium, the word introduced to me in English classes is forever etched in my mind. Ironically, we spend most of our time waiting for big things to happen but the real joy is in the fleeting moments. When was the last time that you experienced true happiness? Was it something over extraordinary? I bet it was over something mundane and ordinary. Happiness doesn’t come in big packages but in small parcels sealed with love. The problem with most of us is we don’t know how to conquer unhappiness in us. A large chunk of our life withers away waiting for happiness to occur. But happiness doesn’t happen nor can be created rather it is to be recognized. It’s the moments of joy which makes life worth living. Tiny moments like droplets of rain make our lives fertile and vibrant.
Enjoying Little Things In Life
Happiness is enjoying little bounties that life offers us. It’s is in the simplest of things that joy manifests itself. A face of an innocent kid or a warm smile on your partner’s face is enough to light up any day. Our entire education system is based on success, it is steeped in our brains that one can be happier only if one attains some high pedestal in life. If material success is the only parameter to be happy, then why are so many celebrities unhappy? Despite all the riches and fame, we often read about celebs committing suicides and their addiction to drugs. The fact is material success and recognition cannot guarantee happiness in life. Revisit your childhood and try to remember things that used to make you happy. Something as simple as going to your favorite ice-cream parlor or getting a new bike for your birthday was enough to make you ecstatic. But then as we grow up our inner zeal to get happy gets brutally crushed under the heavy burdens of expectations and commitments. Happiness never vanishes but it’s our zeal to be happy which abandons us in our dreary lives.
Be Grateful For Everything
Do you express gratitude for the luxuries that you enjoy in your life? Are you a thankful person or a whiner whose only job is to nag? In a pursuit of having more in our lives, we take simple pleasures that we relish every day for granted. Gratitude is the first and the only step to be happy in life. Be grateful for little things that you have in your life while others are struggling to have them. Appreciation will open your gates to the joy you never felt before. “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude” as Karl Barth put it. Start your day with gratitude for everything you have in your life. Appreciate gestures of kindness and care. We don’t often thank our family and friends for their valuable contributions to our lives.
When you seek life in small little things, it becomes more joyous. It is in the small acts that true happiness lies. Be the first to say thank you whenever someone does something for you. Last but the most important, thank God for everything in your life. Remember a thankful heart is a happy heart. Don’t waste your time waiting for bigger things to happen rather appreciate the ordinary, the mundane. It is these little moments of happiness that make life worth living.
Super loved the post
Thanks Bhavna, have a great day
I am starting to notice a little more when I get into complaining and missing the wonder in the small things surrounding me on any day. I am not fully there yet but I find this very inspirational.