Want To Be Happy? Delight in the Little things.

We all want to be happy. The secret is to  consciously take off jaded glasses, stop and look around. There is a lot be grateful for . I heard of a fellow who hated his job, so he tried to find something to be grateful about every day and started to write his discoveries in a blog.  He hit a nerve in people because soon he had a huge following.  He is now writing a book at the request of a publisher.


 I discovered the same secret after years of  mothering tiny children. They taught me to take delight in the plethora of tiny details all around me because little kids are born with a sense of wonder and the ability to enjoy little thing. Now I am the type of person who notices and remembers details. These stories for example pour effortlessly from my heart and mind. Repeating a conversation, verbatim, just comes naturally because the details remain vivid in my memory

My daughter's seem to retain an appreciation for detail and she remembers the little things.

A friend of mine once asked Melissa, when she was about six, what she liked most about Christmas. Mara replied immediately,

 "The Pineapple."

Martha was astounded.

My adult children were remembering their childhood and Mara said, 

" I always remember the fresh smell of clean sheets every week."

Such a small thing, yet a child, with a heart full of gratitude, takes great pleasure from it.

Another time Mara was recounting how pleased she was with a plant in her garden. Realizing that she was enjoying such a small thing she laughed,

"Oh my god, I am sounding just like Mum.

Another daughter and  her husband of three months  celebrated their marriage with a huge wedding reception for two hundred people. Mara has planned every detail from the match covers to the large buffet. Most of all, she  poured her creative spirit into making all the decorations by hand with sisters and friends. From green wheat grass in planters, tissue paper flowers in greens and plum to spray painted hydrangeas in purple, sliver, black and lime green. She is creative and can make the most from the least. Everything is gorgeous and perfect in every tiny detail.

The things that raise my spirits are usually small and most people would not consider them significant. For example, one Christmas I was very tired and only one gift sparked joy, real euphoria. It was hand crocheted dish clothes from my friend Cathy. ..dish clothes, beautifully made, colourful, something I used a hundred times a day.

Perhaps this is one of the blessings of a large family; the ability to retain the child's sense of awe and to delight in and to remember the little things.