Remembering the Joy

4 Tips on Remembering the Joy of Life

It is all too easy to forget the wonder and gift that is life on our planet. We tend to get too caught up in material things and we are too fast to lament over alleged hardships. The advice that we should “stop and smell the roses” every so often is commonly offered but rarely taken, and as a result we miss half of what the world gives. Life is an indescribable blessing, and we need to remind ourselves of all the reasons why it is a joy to be alive.

1. Observe nature. Walk into the shade of a grove of trees and look around. Listen to the scratch of leaves and branches in the wind and the trilling chirps of unseen birds. If you pay attention to nature, you will notice the amazing transformation it goes through week by week, powered only by the sun, soil, and water. Leaves turn golden and pile underneath increasingly bare branches in the autumn, only to burst back into lush, green life in the spring. Scented fruits weigh down what used to be dead, weedy branches, and everywhere new life erupts from winter’s bones. And we are a part of it all, growing with each passing season and year.

2. Observe your senses. Pay attention to the texture of leather, wood, or cotton on your fingertips. Notice the varied notes in the mist of perfume. Listen to the slight squeak of a guitarist’s fingers on the fret board as he changes chords. Watch the slow appearance of stars in the once-blank sky. Taste the salt in the air when you are standing by the sea. All of our senses allow us to relish in the bounty of the world, and it is our senses that immerses us in living and connects us with nature.

3. Look inward. No one in the world is exactly the same, which is difficult to fathom knowing that there are more than 6 billion people on the planet. Out of the entire population, we are all one of a kind, as even identical twins are different in personality, behavior, and tastes. Think about what makes you uniquely you, and what you have in common with others.

4. Look outward. Think of all the people you have come in contact with throughout your life and how they have changed you. Realize that you too have had the same changing effect on others as your lives drifted together and apart. Cherish the family and friends you hold dear and rejoice in the experiences you have been through together and how many more are sure to come.

This post was contributed by Donna Scott.

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