Whenever you scroll down your instagram feed, you are bombarded with images and messages that scream at you through the screen what you need to have, or be, to enjoy life. Things like a Victoria Secret angel body, a house in the hills, the latest Mercedes or fancy vacations to name a few.
So that becomes the blue print of happiness, and we navigate our lives in pursuit of these material possessions. We spend hours on working out how to have more money so we can buy more things. Finally, after many stressful months (or even years) we have saved enough to buy what we have convinced ourselves we need.
For a while, we believed we were happy and couldn’t want anything more. But we soon discover that the pleasure experienced from acquiring that car was short lived and our attention has diverted to a shiny, exciting, new toy. And the cycle begins again…
I started on that hamster wheel very early on in life, but fortunately got off it at the right time, now I know better. Joy doesn’t come with a new pair of shoes or a quilted handbag on a chained strap; it comes in the small nameless moments that you spend smiling and laughing with loved ones.
Joy comes when you are being mindful of each simple act. Sometimes you feel burdened by the routine of making breakfast. But when you think that you’re cooking so that your loved ones will enjoy the food, you do it with love.
Joy comes when you pay attention to your surroundings The smell of freshly cut grass, walking barefoot on the beach, feeling the sun warming your skin. When was the last time you were amazed by the stars in the sky?
Even in the midst of dark of times that we all find ourselves in from time to time, something small can mean so much, something small like the smell of someone you love, can remind you that things actually do get better, that you will find joy again, and that not everything is bad. Once you begin to notice those little things, they start to add up, and you realize that the world is a beautiful place. Its then, that every day becomes a miracle