Simple Joy(s)

Simple joys are like snuggling with a well loved teddy bear.

In light of current events, it is a dance every day to balance my physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. It isn't easy. I live with a news junkie. And yet, I have found a way...and no, I am not talking about seeking salvation in a quart of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream...Truth be told, the solution was whispering in my ear, "focus on simple joys."

The summer I turned four, it was a particularly hot one in Illinois. To my delight, my parents put up a kiddie pool in the backyard for my brother and me. It wasn't one of those huge above ground pools. I didn't care, my pool suited me just fine. It had seats in the corners. Maybe they weren't seats but whatever they were, they were big enough for me to sit there and put my feet in the water. I was simply mesmerized by what I saw glistening back. It was like I had been entrusted with a very special secret. An ahhh moment. The same feeling carries with me today. I love looking at water...it gives me the sense of being "restored." It isn't about the "what", but what the "it" represents.

Simple joys are just that, simple. When I open the book of my simple joys, written on the pages are; taking time to enjoy my favorite tea, treasuring hand written letters, listening to the wind, smelling salt air, giving myself permission to take the day off...

Remember I mentioned the "it"? My dearly beloved flip-flops are going on three years old. They cost $8.00 and were purchased at the grocery store on Vashon Island right before we left on our RV journey across America. My flip-flops aren't just any flip-flops, they are my vehicle for transporting me to that ahhh feeling. If I am wearing flip flops it means I am wearing shorts, it is warm outside, and the sun is shining. It is the feeling of "being restored." I realize this revelation isn't the magnitude of performing brain surgery and yet, it is equal in importance to me.

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Reminders can be a very good thing. We can't change the news but we have the power to change our focus. My god daughter shared a story about the gift she received this past week... all because she did something so simple. She put her phone down. She didn't "check-in." She tuned into herself and listened. The ahhhhh feeling is what she found... and perhaps, a new simple joy.

Treasure those simple joy's.