It's the Little Things

 Lately, I've discovered that many of the non-fiction books I read have similar themes, and one of those themes is gratitude. It's a topic of discussion in both of the Audible books I'm listening to, and it's the topic of an entire unit in one of the classes I teach.

A few months ago, I found a really simple journaling idea on Pinterest which includes -- you guessed it -- gratitudes. I modified it a bit, using it only in the mornings, but I've done it every day for a month and a half. I've been ending my days with gratitudes for a long time, but this new journaling piece has added morning gratitudes to my routine as well. It's a pretty nice way to bookend the day.

There's so much out there to point to the power of being grateful. It has echoes far beyond the moment we take to acknowledge the things that are good. In fact, gratitudes can be as small as the ones in this post from three summers ago.

What are you grateful for today?

The other night, as I was getting ready for bed, something small made me smile. I don't remember if it was the clean towels my daughter had folded and put away or the sweet-smelling hand soap I'd finally found online, allowing me to replace the industrial-smelling stuff I'd bought in a pinch. Whatever it was, it was a small thing and it got me to thinking.

Small things can be the tipping point. They can be bitter or sweet -- the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back, or the cherry on top of the sundae (or whipped cream if you're not a fan of maraschino cherries). We tend not to notice them when they add value but, when they knock us off course, they're all we can think about.

Today's post is about the former, not the latter. Whatever that thing was that got me started the other night (I think it was the towels), it triggered a flood of little things that make me smile. Here, in no particular, are a few of my favorite things. 

• Charged devices
• Sharpened pencils
• The little notes my husband leaves for me to find when I come downstairs after he's gone to work
• Blank notebooks
• Clear space
• The white lights in my office

  

  weinstock via Pixabay
  

• Emails from friends
• My vanilla soy candle
• Cloth napkins
• Clean clothes
• My bedside clock with the great big numbers
• The right pen or marker
• A new book
• Everyone sleeping peacefully under the same roof.

I'm sure I could keep going, but you get the idea. 

What little thing will make your day today?