Little Things Mean A Lot

Remember when momma said make your bed? She was right. I notice so many people unhappy, feeling alone, looking for some way out of this or that. Sometimes I am too. We all have our tough days and some have more than others do. So many people seem to feel “I’ll be happy when … ” fill in the blank.

There are two important sayings I try to keep in mind for my own happiness now. The first is, I may not be where I should be but I’m not where I was. The second is, yesterday is gone, and tomorrow never comes, and right now is all you get. For me it helps to know I’ve made a progression from the past even if I’m not quite where I want to get to yet. The second comes in by way of thinking if I wait to some day to be happy, I’m going to waste a lot of life. I can be happy in now if I shift my perspective from what I don’t have to what I do have.

So now you’re thinking great but what does that have to do with making my bed? Sometimes it’s easier to start with one small thing you can control. There will be one neat place even in all the clutter of both life and objects. Clear your mind; focus just on the doing and breathing. Take the time to make the bed perfectly, get it even both sides, make the folds just the way you like, fluff and place the pillows just so. Look it over when you’re done. Maybe it’s not Better Homes and Gardens but you did it. In that time of clearing your mind of everything else, was your breathing slower? Didn’t you feel just a little more relaxed than before you started? Now it really doesn’t have to be making the bed. It could be washing the dishes, walking the dog, any seemingly mindless task where you can just focus on the doing. In a way it’s a form of meditation. Just do, just breathe, and forget everything else for those minutes.

The point is in this way you can change yourself, your life, whatever you want to just by taking baby steps. Starting with just one or two things makes it easier to develop new habit. Taking on too much to learn at once can sometimes feel overwhelming.