"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."
- Epictetus
Today I've had the most touching opportunity to be grateful. I awoke to sunshine this morning, but it soon turned grey, and we've had some drops of rain. I rejoiced when I awoke to rain, and I rejoiced when it clouded over. It matched my mood, and I was thankful to have the opportunity to come home after mass, and after helping Philomena clean her room, sit down to enjoy a Wild Bean coffee, and read.
We've all had a nice morning doing our own little things and going into our own little worlds. This afternoon we'll come together as a family again, go out to celebrate Phil's birthday with our good friends Matt and Chelsea and their boys, Ashton and Declan.
But meanwhile, this is what we've been doing... Philomena is watching a DVD...G-Force (guinea pigs who are spies); Anthony has been reading the paper, snoozing and playing with his lego; and I've been sitting in Phil's room looking out the window watching the trees and plants sway, reading the paper, listening to Tony McManus, contemplating and being grateful for small things today. It's what I would call a perfect Sunday.
Today's title is taken from today's Qweekend article, 'From Little Things Big Things Grow'. It's a great article by Frances Whiting, and this is the sub-heading..."In the hustle and bustle of daily life, how often do we stop to appreciate the small stuff? Hailey Bartholomew did, and she started a revolution."
Her website '365 Grateful' is about Hailey's story which includes a project which is being turned into a documentary. The Qweekend article also includes other people's stories where they were touched by Hailey's quest...to be grateful for something every day, and how it changed their lives and their outlook. If you haven't got today's Sunday Mail with Qweekend, then I recommend you get it (the article isn't online yet).
Of course, there are so many things I am grateful for. But today, being at home as a little family and enjoying relative peace and quiet, and being able to read and contemplate the blessing of my little family and all the 'small things'...sipping coffee...watching the trees and plants sway, and the leaves whirl...reading the paper...reading a good book...listening to soothing music...and generally contemplating the richness of my life...
I couldn't find 'The Lea Rig' on youtube, so I'll leave you with Tony's rendition of Wonderful World...a great tune to help you feel gratitude...
What a great post Kerry. It's not often that many of us stop to smell the roses - to appreciate the little, everyday things we so often take for granted. I have been trying to do this a bit more often lately, rather than focussing on the stuff that goes a little off what I have planned - and I gotta tell you, I am much happier for it in general. Really does make a massive difference to the rest of my life!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder :)
Kerry I am writing this to while listening to the clip you puton here. THANKYOU. Just the tune is enough to lift the spirit. Thanks for the post and sharing your Sunday with me. Cheers, Wendy
ReplyDeleteHey Vicki...glad you're much happier. You seemed alot more upbeat in your last post. How's your ballet and boxing classes going?
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Wendy! :)