Life. Sometimes that word can be extremely simple and rolls off of our tongue or sometimes, it can be a complex word.
When I think about life, I think about all of the beauty that encompasses it (which yes, that would be the good, the bad, & the ugly). Beauty isn't something that you necessarily have to see with the naked eye, it's something that can also be a way of viewing things or a mindset. Life is full of trials, tribulations and stress, but do we as adults really take a moment to stop and see the beauty (yes I said it again), the true beauty life has to offer? We get so caught up in our day-to-day lives that it can be easy to forget how many good things we have in front of us. How many blessings. How many things we are grateful for. This whole topic in and of itself is something I've been really thinking about as these last few months and has been the inspiration for this post.
There was a day a few weeks back I was struggling. It seemed like everything had come up. A few unexpected things needed fixed, our loving dog (who is also aging) was in a funk and needed a little extra TLC, the kids were upset and arguing with me most of the day, I had a huge work load and the list goes on. I felt like I was literally being pulled in 8 different directions. It was total chaos and that "chaos" came at a really bad time. I can remember as the day ended, I took some time for reflection on that day and actually, the entire week and felt total mom and wife guilt for a lot of my responses and reactions that had occured. Why was I responding with such a negative or irritable response? Where was my patience? Why can't I brush off the unexpected things that come up and find a way to look at them in a more positive light? My head was spinning. I then, by the grace of god I believe, happened to come across an article that was about being more positive and grateful. Inside of that article, one of the suggestions to gain more positive vibes in your life was to laugh more. Not like a light sort of haha laugh but a laugh until you cry kind of laugh. That then brought me to..when was the last time I did that?!
The next day, I had the article I had read in the back of my head and just observed how much I actually laughed and welcomed joy on a given day. As I watched my kids, I found it fascinating and intriguing that they laugh ALOT! Over some of the simplest things too. You can make a funny face and they laugh. They were playing with stickers in their sticker book and put the stickers on their stuffed animals and laughed. I couldn't even tell you how many times they got joy out of something so small and their joy, seeing their happiness, gave me happiness! I thought to myself, "Why don't we as adults laugh and find simple joys in things like we used to?" which brought me to this:
There is a season. As adults, it's easy to get caught up in our daily tasks that I think its easy to forget to find or even see for that matter, the simple joys in life. There is so much going on & life is so busy that we forget to stop and look around us and appreciate the small things. Small things like a breath of fresh air. Things like playing with our kids as much as they want us to. Things like forgetting about money or where we stand and finding ways to be grateful for what we do have and what we can do. The world around us is full of things that try and put us down and change our positive light into a negative one. Don't fall into that trap. There is a season or season(s) where we will be stressed to the max and have trouble finding our light. There will be a season where we are just in "one of those moods" and can't seem to get out of the funk. There will be a season where the goals and dreams that you've set for yourself seem so far out there that you wonder how will you get to where you're going.
The good news? We have the ability to change any circumstance no matter what it is or what comes our way! We CAN change our outlook and enjoy the simple joys in life. You know that saying, "Embrace the Chaos"? Embrace it! Truly embrace it! The life we are given is a gift, the things surrounding us are a gift, and I can promise you there is always, always, ALWAYS something to be grateful for! Just when you might think you haven't met your goals or dreams or don't have all that you wish for, there is someone out there who wishes they had what you had. Give when you can give. Smile when you pass people on the street. Take the time to play with your kids or spend quality time with your spouse and loved ones. Shut the phone off, hug a little more, love a little deeper, laugh a little harder, and enjoy the simple joys & beautiful gift called life!
Until Next Time,
-Rochelle