Small and Wonderful Things . . .

 

  

"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best.  

 

(source) 

"Perhaps God has something entirely different  in mind

for me than what I had anticipated.

Something better."

I was reading Even This, by Emily Belle Freeman in bed last night and this came up.  I thought yes!  This! exactly this!  We are such impatient creatures and we expect prayers to be answered and blessings to come to us immediately. We do not like to wait for answers and blessings.  But sometimes the blessings come in the waiting and are so good, often the opposite of what we have been asking for, but exactly what and when we need it.  

 

Too often in life we can waste precious time dwelling on the things that haven't turned out exactly as we had wanted them to, or our failures, things which have hurt us, or disappointed us, etc.  This only takes away from our light, from our joy.  It is good to acknowledge the pain, the frustrations, the hurts, the failures and learn from them if need be, but it is also important to be able to let them go and dwell instead on the positivity in our lives. There are far more positives than negatives. Don't let the bad steal the light from your good.  

 

 

Life is filled with tiny miracles, which often go un-noticed. We need to make it a habit to notice the small things, the often unexpected,  and not take them for granted.  I had taken a can of soup out yesterday for my dinner because I had been so busy on a project and with a deadline looming for today, along with all of my other Sunday commitments I didn't think I would really have time to cook a meal for myself.  Then I got a message from my sister.  Come for supper. And I thought yes!  I will.  What a welcome break and respite from the busyness of life that was.  She had cooked a lovely roast beef dinner. I got to spend time with her, Dan and dad.  Pet the cats, and after the dishes were done, Cindy and I spent some time in the garden before I left to come home. It was just what I needed.  A most welcome break.

 

This is so true.  We need to learn how to be happy now. To find joy in the present.  Its right there in that word, "present." Its a gift. The here and the now. 

 

 

Remembering these bleached out fairies in my English Garden. I need to pick up some old fairies at yard sales and stuff so that I can bleach them out and put them in my garden here.  It takes time to build a garden. Maybe next year I will be better prepared.  I guess I have had other priorities this year.  

 

Garden visitors . . .  the hummingbirds, blackbirds, blue jays, morning doves, pigeons, chipmunks, squirrels, gold finches, all of them.  They provide little interludes and pockets of joy all the day through . . . 

The very kind thoughtfulness of others. How very wonderful it is to be thought so highly of that others want to reach out to me in such ways. I am not sure I deserve any of it, but I am ever so grateful for all of it.  And it is not just in tangible ways such as these gifts, but in knowing I am being lifted daily in the prayers of others, and in their happy thoughts. Its knowing I am loved and cared about.  

Just knowing others care.  That is in no way a small or a simple thing, but it is every thing.

 

I have lived and am living a life filled with abundance . . .  and best of all I know this, I recognize this. I don't take any of it for granted and where and when I can, I try to share it with others.  A blessing shared is a blessing doubled. A grain of rice shared between two people brings joy to them both.

And that's the best way to live your life.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

 .° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.° ˛°. .“Think the best of each other, 
especially of those you say you love. 
Assume the good and doubt the bad.” 
~Jeffrey R Holland   .° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •  

In The English Kitchen today  . . .   Peanut Sauced Easy Thai Noodles. Delicious!! 

I hope your week ahead is filled with lots of small and wonderful things. Along the way of your week, don't forget! 

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right where you are! 

And I do too!