Little Things That Can Turn My Day Around

Little Things That Can Turn My Day Around

Every once in a while I must remind myself to disengage the autopilot in my life and take control back to where it belongs. Our brains become super-efficient at processing familiar information that is a big part of our daily routines. I believe that this is why we all sometimes believe that as we get older the time seems to fly by more quickly. I have pondered this concept often because I hear it so much from people that are around my age. 

It seems to happen when I stop taking mental notes of what is bringing me actual joy. What I am grateful for. This is a seemingly simple concept, yet not always the easiest to remember to acknowledge. For me, I am trying to make it a habit to just realize that I have a lot more to appreciate in my life than I thought. To help with making this a habit, I have my own gratitude jar where at least once a day, I write on a slip of paper and date it, stating something simple that I am grateful for. I will be able to take these out and just see all of the small things that have made me happy. 

Just to give you some examples of the simple things that I have taken time to acknowledge make me happy, I have shared them in my blog. They are in no particular order or favorite to least, just some random happenings in my everyday life, many of which I am sure that we share. 

Pets - I am so very happy that we have two of the most comical goof-ball doodles every known. Just having them cuddle up to me and touching their soft fur brings stress down and makes me happy. Think about the way your dog is so happy to see you when you come walking in the door. Sheer happiness!

Thinking of my 'Happy Place' can take me away just like in the Calgon commercial. (If you are too young to remember the Calgon commercial, then please go and google it.)Planning the trip is almost as much fun and beneficial to my well being as actually taking the trip.

My other half. What in the world would I ever do without him. We both have shared many times that when we sit down together in the evenings or make dinner together, the most favorite part of the day is when we are together. 

First thing in the morning, I know that I do not function very well without my coffee. Lucky for me that I have a very thoughtful husband who actually makes me a cup and brings it to me while I am dressing for the day. How blessed I am with this man of mine!

This is a really little quirk of mine. Not sure how many other people can get so ecstatic over opening up a perfect avocado. One of the many little things that can make me so happy.

Living in Memphis comes with living on the Mississippi River, which seems to greatly affect the humidity level. I always try to remember what my Grandmother would tell me about how wonderful it is for our skin. So, it is a matter of letting it soak in to make us appear younger. On the other hand, high humidity does have another affect and that is a bad hair day, for sure. I truly can't say that I am grateful for a bad hair day due to the humidity but I can say that I am grateful for either a cute baseball cap, summer straw beach hat or I have learned how to make a bad hair day into an ok hair day with the messy bun. It works. I even have little hair extensions that wrap on my shorter bob so that I can twist it into a messy bun. Where there is a will there is a way.

I never, ever underestimate how wonderful a bubble bath can make me feel. Just taking a moment of my time to spend luxuriating in big fluffy bubbles can change my whole approach to my day. Highly advisable. (This is where the Calgon comes in.) 

While I am on the subject of bubbles, let me bring up bubble wrap. Is there anyone out there who has more will power than I do and not have the urge to pop those bubbles on the bubble wrap. I love it when I get a package delivered and they have it wrapped in bubble wrap. There is just something about it that makes me smile. There is actually a free APP game for your phone called Bubble Wrap and you get to pop all of the bubbles, large or small and my granddaughters know right where to go in order to get to this game.  What I do know is that if aggressive drivers really continue to bother me, I just may have to resort to this:

I hope that this picture made you laugh because that is the next thing that I am grateful for and always need to take a moment to fully engage myself into laughter. A great example is a play that my husband and I went to this past week. It was a Broadway Touring Show called The Play That Went Wrong. It made not just the two of us but the whole audience go crazy into laughter. It was totally ridiculous, along the lines of Monty Python humor. Find the humor in many things, not just a movie, play or book. It can be simple situations and interactions. Be aware of humor and invite it in to your life.

It may be February 16th, 2020 here in Memphis but we already have some blooming going on outside. Flowers, whether blooming outside or in art work or some that I get at the florist...grateful! Brings a smile to my face! 

As soon as I complete this blog, my next activity is to quickly make up some cornbread to go with our homemade chili tonight. Another thing to not go on auto-pilot but to enjoy and savor the moment of bringing happiness to our lives by cooking together. Then while our dinner is cooking, I plan on writing in my journal and curling up to read a few chapters in my current novel. 

I hope that my blog was a bit eye opening to my readers in that truly it is the super tiny awesome things that we should appreciate more. I appreciate all of my blog readers from all around the world. The old saying of we all need to stop and smell the roses is even more true in today's turmoil. There is so much to be grateful for. I can choose to open my eyes and see all the ways that magic, goodness, love, and meaning fill my days.