finding joy in the little things

I like to find joy in the little things. Everything in my life may not be just as I want it to be, but the sight of a perfect snowflake or the sound of a baby's laugh can make my day.

Most people miss the beautiful things in life because they're going too fast. I once heard someone say, "Make the most of the little things, because when you come to the end of your life you'll find that they weren't so little after all." I think that's so true. When you're on your deathbed, will you think about those things that today are so important to you? Impressing your boss, getting a raise or a promotion, winning an award, doing well on a test...when you look back over your life, are these the things you'll remember? Will you consider these things the most rewarding things you've ever done? I tend to think that the little things will be what will matter most to you in that moment. The half hour you took off from your studies to go get ice cream with your best friend, the way a child smiled up at you in admiration as you showed him how to catch a fish, an impulsive hug from a younger sibling after you helped them with a difficult math problem, or the way you laughed with a friend for five minutes straight over an inside joke you had will be what's most likely to stand out in your mind in your last moments on this earth. These things are seemingly insignificant, but they stand out as eternally rewarding when you take a look at the grand scheme of things.

There are so many beautiful things in life if you only look for them. Most people pass by the details, the smaller things in life in order to get to the things that may be larger, but are somehow not as satisfying to the beauty-loving soul. The night sky seen through a canopy of leaves, a baby's tiny fingers, the heady scent of honeysuckle on a hot summer day that seems to fill the air with its intoxicating fragrance, a loved one's hand in yours, the taste of ice cold water after running for a long time, the way rays of sunlight seem to filter down softly through tree branches on a quiet spring day, the flickering light of a campfire, a pond so calm that you can see your reflection in it like glass - all these things are ones that give me joy. Sometimes, the beauty of life is shown in the way the little things continue to give us glimpses of heaven, even when life is bad.