Little things in life can take on big meaning

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2021 (1524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every once in a while, I have to try extra hard to look for the good things around me, especially lately.

I remind myself to poke my head outside of my echo chamber, and remember that even though the world seems to be on fire (literally and figuratively) there is still goodness and my soul needs to be nourished by it.

Sometimes, the brightest spot on my day is a jackpot — something like going on a vacation or finding a $5 bill in my pocket.

It’s the days that I easily make a connection with someone or have so much fun doing something that I forget about all the chaos around me.

Other times, the bright spot is harder to see, but it’s still there, shining like a pin on a map.

It’s my kids’ laughter, hearty and genuine, or a nice compliment from someone. It’s meeting a deadline or feeling like I’ve done something meaningful with my time, my words, or my actions. It’s that quiet moment before right before bed after a busy day that I have all to myself. Exhale.

Those are the little things that are harder to notice, but make my days and entire life better. Now more than ever I need those moments — the blips that give me hope and a sense of optimism. I need to be aware of them, and force myself to see the goodness around me, even when it’s hard or seems so small.

Last week, the best part of one of my days was visiting a little free library box in someone’s front yard down the street from my house. I gathered some old children’s books that I’d been saving for one day when I would have my own little free library, and told my daughter to get her shoes on and come for a walk with me.

I’m busy, not terribly handy, and the kits to build these things are a bit costly. One day when I have more time to care for it, I’ll have my own little free library, but for now we’ll use the one down the street to share books we no longer need or want.

My partner, our daughter and our dogs made our way to the little free library and, one by one, my daughter put each book into the little box, looking through the pages of each of them one last time. I commended her for sharing, letting her know that other kids in our neighbourhood will find these books and enjoy them like she and her sisters had.

It was such a simple moment, almost too ordinary to notice, but it dawned on me how good this moment was. A neighbour we don’t know put out this little free library for strangers like us to use, and we got to share books and bedtime stories with other families in our community. It’s such a lovely concept and the thought of that person, and so many others who do the same, made me happy.

That was it. That was the good moment of one of my days last week and the thought behind it.

There’s a fine line between toxic positivity and genuine goodness.

I’ve straddled that line many times, sometimes crossing it and other times jumping back when the realization hits me that I’ve moved past goodness to something noxious. Looking for the good things in life doesn’t mean we don’t have bad days. Let’s face it, the world is a big dumpster fire sometimes. Not every story has a happy ending, and there isn’t a reason behind everything that happens. Sometimes life just sucks… which is why, more than ever, I keep looking for the good things, no matter how big or ordinary.

shelley.cook@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @ShelleyAcook