Happiness keeps getting scheduled for tomorrow.
MMMMM?
What about TODAY?
Slow down. Look around. Something wonderful may already be happening while you’re waiting for something better.
BE HAPPY TODAY — DON’T POSTPONE THE LIFE YOU ALREADY HAVE
Here is a reminder to appreciate the small and seemingly insignificant things starting NOW.
Slow down.
Look around.
BEHOLD.
There are things everywhere to wonder about, and the details abound without end.
Listen.
Observe.
Watch how the EARTH boasts of itself.
It seems to say:
LOOK AT ME.
LOOK AT WHAT I HAVE.
And we would do well to accept that invitation because we are not merely spectators standing outside of all this.
WE ARE IN IT.
We are part of the presentation.
And perhaps one of its most remarkable living achievements is the human being who can actually stop, look around and realize…
WOW. I AM HERE.
WELCOME TO EARTH
When you enter this Solar System, Earth is certainly the “go-to” planet.
Think about it.
There are enormous planets, moons, stars and mysteries beyond anything we can comprehend.
Then here sits this little blue-and-green place overflowing with LIFE.
Oceans.
Mountains.
Deserts.
Forests.
Animals.
Birds.
Flowers.
Rain.
Snow.
Sunrises.
Human beings.
And countless living things we ordinarily walk right past without giving them a second thought.
Earth is like a gigantic information center constantly announcing:
THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON HERE.
Pay attention.
WAKE UP AND JOIN ME
As I write this, I am watching another day unfold.
The sky is preparing to greet the sun.
The clouds are taking their positions.
Nature is beckoning to itself.
Birds are beginning their business.
My community, city and streets are coming alive.
Doors open.
Cars start.
Coffee gets poured.
Dogs want walking.
People begin going wherever people go.
Somebody is beginning a job.
Somebody is coming home from one.
Somebody is falling in love.
Somebody is celebrating.
Somebody is struggling.
Somebody is simply grateful to have awakened one more morning.
It is a LIVE STAGE PLAY and the performers are taking their positions.
And guess what?
YOU HAVE A PART.
SO DO I.
I intend to contribute something to this day…
and receive its bounty at the same time.
HAPPINESS DOESN’T HAVE TO WAIT
We have a strange habit of attaching happiness to conditions.
I’ll be happy when…
I get the house.
I make more money.
I lose the weight.
I retire.
I meet somebody.
I solve this problem.
I get through this week.
I finally get where I’m going.
There is nothing wrong with wanting things or looking forward to tomorrow.
But be careful.
Tomorrow can become a thief when we use it to postpone TODAY.
The goalpost keeps moving.
You finally get what you wanted…
and another WANT appears.
MMMMM?
Maybe happiness isn’t hiding at the end of all our wants.
Maybe some of it has been sitting quietly beside us waiting to be noticed.
SIP INSTEAD OF GULP
I have written about this before.
SIP LIFE.
Don’t gulp it.
There is a difference.
When you gulp something, you’re already preparing for the next swallow.
When you sip it…
you taste it.
Try that with today.
Taste your morning coffee.
Notice the person sitting across from you.
Look at the sky instead of merely walking underneath it.
Listen when somebody talks.
Pet the dog.
Smell dinner cooking.
Watch the sunset.
Laugh when something is funny.
Rest when it is time to rest.
These don’t sound like monumental achievements.
GOOD.
Maybe we’ve been looking for happiness in things that are too monumental.
THE SMALL THINGS AREN’T SMALL
One day you discover something rather interesting.
The things you thought were ordinary become some of the things you miss the most.
A familiar voice.
Dinner around a table.
Children making noise in another room.
Your spouse walking through the door.
A parent calling.
The dog greeting you.
Your favorite chair.
A familiar neighborhood.
A healthy ordinary day when nothing particularly remarkable happened.
AHHHHH…
Maybe something remarkable WAS happening.
We just called it ordinary because we had become accustomed to having it.
BE HAPPY RIGHT NOW
Happiness doesn’t mean everything in your life has to be perfect.
If that were the requirement, happiness would become almost impossible.
Problems come.
Problems go.
Bills arrive.
Plans change.
People disappoint us.
Bodies age.
Circumstances move around.
Life has never promised to arrange itself perfectly before allowing us to appreciate it.
We can have concerns…
AND still notice the sunrise.
We can have responsibilities…
AND still laugh.
We can be working through something difficult…
AND still be grateful for something good.
Happiness and gratitude are close relatives.
Invite one in and don’t be surprised when the other follows.
THE MOMENT IS THE REWARD
We recently explored another Pearls principle:
THE MOMENT IS THE REWARD.
This is where it applies.
Don’t spend your entire journey trying to arrive at someplace where you finally give yourself permission to live.
Life is happening while you’re getting there.
This morning counts.
This afternoon counts.
Tonight counts.
This conversation counts.
This little ordinary day that doesn’t seem historically important…
COUNTS.
You will never have this exact one again.
EVERY MOMENT CAN BECOME A LITTLE HOLIDAY
Not because balloons appear.
Not because somebody brings a cake.
Not because you’re on vacation.
Because you showed up for it.
You became present.
You noticed.
You appreciated.
You participated.
And perhaps you quietly thanked the ONE who allowed you another day to experience His creation.
That can turn an ordinary Tuesday morning into something rather extraordinary.
BE HAPPY TODAY
Don’t wait for life to become something else before appreciating what it already is.
Look around.
Somebody loves you.
Something is growing.
A bird is singing.
The sky is doing something magnificent without charging admission.
Your heart is beating.
Your eyes are reading these words.
And somewhere nearby…
life is waiting to be noticed.
There is plenty of time to pursue tomorrow when tomorrow gets here.
For now…
TODAY HAS ARRIVED.
Please join me.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you