The sight of the chipmunk eating an acorn on the sun-dappled rock by the mailbox presented such a pleasing picture, I froze and barely breathed until he finished and left. He knew I was there but was unconcerned and trusting. This quiet incident was one of my small joys.
Most of our days are punctuated by small joys. The trick is to recognize them. They range from the daily to the transient; from the lyrical to the more earthy. For me, there is joy in watching the birds at the feeders or starting the day with a beautiful sunrise. There is joy in riding Yankee to the top of the hill and looking across the valley. The dogs get excited about a ride in the car, so I gather them up for a short jaunt to the little store at the crossroads for a snack. This brings joy to them and to me.
Sometimes our joys are as simple as a contrast. A cool day after a string of hot, muggy ones, or seeing the sun again after a week of overcast skies, spring flowers after winter’s snows and fall leaves after summer’s green all give joy by contrast.
I keep a list of things in my journal that make me happy and it constantly grows. Sometimes I add something that has been common for a long time but it took a while to realize the pleasure that it was bringing to my life.
It’s usually easy to know what is making us unhappy, but it takes a little thought to find the things that make us content. We often take for granted the laughter of children, the smell of a good meal cooking on the stove, the nudging nose of a loving pet and the warm hand of a faithful spouse. The significance of these common, homey things that fill our days is often only recognized in hindsight. Too frequently, we are busy trying to achieve other things that seem important, but in reality are much less so, than what we have right under our nose.
Everyone should keep a joy list. It helps to focus on the positives in our lives. And we must thank our Father every day for these things, His kind gifts to us.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One