Appreciate the little things

Whatever situations are unfolding in your life, you choose where to focus your attention.  You decide how to interpret your unique  experiences, whether you get something meaningful out of each stage of your life journey.  Notice the true nature of any restlessness you feel.  Why find anything wrong where you are, doing what you do? Be creative.  Love something about where you are now. 

Notice your conditioned ways of thinking.  Notice whether you focus on thoughts that trigger sadness, joy or evoke other emotions like anger and fear.  Notice when you focus on gratitude or allow discomfort or dissatisfaction to cloud your focus.

This said, you can always renew appreciation for 'the little things.'   This brings clarity. They may be people, aspects of nature or the environment, conditions or anything that uplifts your spirit. Notice whether you view the glass of life as half full, half empty, or as something else. What happens as you are kind to yourself and show kindness to others? The sun always shines.  You see, you take it with you wherever you go.

Take a few moments to reflect on little things that  bring joy.  What stands out? Share your perspective of 'the little things' that truly make life feel worthwhile.

"It is good to appreciate that life is now. Whatever it offers, little or much, life is now - this day - this hour."  - Charles Macomb Flandrau

"None of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up from our own bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down and helped us." - Thurgood Marshall

What does success feel like?

The external world invites us to adopt different visions of success and fulfillment.  Ever notice what drives or motivates you at different stages and seasons of your life? You might respond by describing a particular object you dream of, an envisioned experience, a set of conditions or outcome. But does success always have to be out of reach? What is the deeper message?

Consider the analogy of a young person who just gets a driver's license.  This person is eager and often has a heavy foot, as if always speeding to get somewhere.  You may encounter drivers who appear impatient, are always looking ahead, but never at you, never here, in this moment.  You may begin to see this as a mirror of yourself.  Why chase after success in the future?

Observe what happens as you notice the slower drivers that are no longer in a rush. What happens to stress, anxiety and intense emotions? What are you willing to notice and outgrow? How do you view slower driving behaviour in light of your sense of success? Does speed matter?

Notice what happens as you accept yourself fully. Any pursuit loses significance.  Notice how it feels to savour every moment, and to be aware of why you view success in different ways. Watch the impact of a simple shift of attention. Thoughts and emotions point to what mind does not want you to see. Recognize what you fear/ cling to, what you run from and who you truly are.

"You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity." -Thomas Wolfe

Be open to available lessons

Every moment, perceptions and experiences invite each of us to recognize available lessons.  Notice what stands out for you.  Be aware thoughts, emotions and beliefs interpret circumstances. Observe how emotions shape your experience. At any given moment, you are open and closed to certain ways of being, seeing and experiencing who and what you are. Three questions to ask and answer are:

1) What are you allowing and resisting?
2) What do you love and what do you fear?
3) What are you seeing and not picking up with physical senses?

"Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him."
-Aldous Huxley

Love brings it up

Unconditional love speaks through everything. It also draws attention to anything that is not love. Notice which relationships, emotions and situations stand out for you.  To step back and digest this empowers you to shift your focus and experience infinity. Love brings to the surface and makes conscious the fear that hides. Love invites you to recognize patterns, false defenses and heal wounds imagined into being. In truth, one is forever perfect, divine, unlimited and constantly expanding into more. Love it!

See good in everything

You may know what it like to have a dream or endeavour that you focus on whole-heartedly with initiatives.  When that dream does not pan out as the mind plans, or not on your projected timeline, part of you may wonder why. You may ask what you could do differently next time.  The mind is conditioned to expect disppointment, to focus on what does not unfold.  And yet, there is also the opportunity to see the good.

After the expected roller coaster of emotion, you may come to tell yourself everything happens for the best. Everything is a stepping stone to the unforeseen. You find the silver lining. You see the mind tricks you into believing its possible to do something wrong. You only ever do things right. As you step back and take the perspective of the universe, you are always travelling. The longest journey is inward where you awaken to the feeling of being and accept whatever comes.

"I absolutely believe that if we see the best in others, we bring out the best in others – and in ourselves. " -Jenny Blake

"If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe