The city park was humming with activity—businesspeople were hurrying to their lunch breaks, and shoppers were briskly walking by with their packages. A mother with a stroller was rushing back to her parking meter, when her young child called to her to wait. Exasperated, she stopped, and the child pointed up to the trees. “Listen,” he said.
Baby birds were chirping from several nests as brightly feathered parents darted in to feed them. It was a magical moment of song and color, nature unfolding one of its glorious images just above their heads. But it took a young child to notice it.
How often do we rush through our lives, stacking our appointments back to back, and miss the simple joys that surround us all?
It could be the echo of laughter from a playground, the sway of a tree in the breeze, or even the gleam of a polished pair of shoes. Simple joys are everywhere—all we have to do is take a moment to find them.
Appreciation for simple things is a direct path to happiness. Look around in your own home—a picture on the wall, a cherished book, a clean countertop, a vase of flowers. Gratitude for these little touches can lighten our step and bring a smile to our faces.
By slowing down, by savoring all the senses, and by deliberately searching for the good, we can find dozens of simple pleasures that lift our spirits and remind us how blessed we are. Problems and trials will not disappear, but they will no longer dominate if we choose to look up at the branches, where magic happens, instead of below, where humdrum living can distract us.
Enjoyment of life need not happen in sweeping events of fun and entertainment; it can surround us every day as we seek and appreciate the simple joys of life.
Program #4118