Small Happinesses

There is so much tragedy, so much heartbreak, so much sicknesses and illness and disaster in this life. We see it in the papers, hear it on the radio, watch it on TV and the internet.  It can weigh us down and suck the very life out of us.   Even the small bumps in the road of life weigh us down.  The crying babies and shedding dogs;  burnt dinners and late spouses;  horrible traffic and poor gas mileage.  It bogs us down, wears at us, eats away at our joy.
It may seem that there have not been any big happinesses in life lately, but the good is there.  The happy is there.  We just need to look a bit closer, think a bit smaller.
The January (I’m a bit behind in my reading!) 2012 issue of Family Circle‘s article “Be Happy Now”, had some great advice:
“Appreciate the little things.  Spend 10 minutes before bedtime writing down three positive outcomes from the day…The mind is like your tongue swishing around life,  looking for a cavity…Instead, focus on what’s going right–and savor it.”
1.  I heard the crickets chirping while on my evening walk.
2. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.
3.  Best of all, I  have a couple of dahlia’s blooming!  So there, you slugs!