In day to day life, it can be tough to stop and appreciate things. When you're so busy and caught up in the day to day hustle and bustle, why would you care to take a step back and appreciate the little things in life? If you spend a lot of time in your daily life thinking about life, do you ever stop to appreciate what you have? You might give something a second thought: your favorite shirt, a heartfelt touch from a loved one, or your favorite book.
To remember the little things in life, focus on your surroundings. There are so many ways to appreciate them, but instead of thinking about that last hour of Netflix binging, visualize a time when you appreciated a flower from afar. It’s easy for us to get caught up in what we might think are the big accomplishments in life and close off to the smaller moments, that make it all worth it.
Awareness of these moments can help us live the best life possible. Sometimes it’s easy to take the simplest things in life for granted. I love taking a walk on a sunny day, the sound of a song, the feeling of walking in simple spring-like weather, enjoying a leisurely meal with a friend and more. I love when I have time to stop and do these little things without interruption.
The Importance Of Appreciation
When you start to really examine the importance of appreciation, you see that it is at the heart of almost every philosophy of life. In order to truly appreciate anything, you have to first be aware of it. You have to put yourself in the path of the phenomenon, that you want to appreciate. Otherwise you will not notice it.
Once you are aware of it, you then have to focus on it. You have to give it your attention and not allow anything else to steal it away. If you do not give it your attention, you will not be able to see its true value or beauty. You will not be able to see the fun, that it has to offer.
Finally, you have to relish it. You have to allow yourself to fully experience it. You have to let it sweep you away and allow you to become part of it completely. If you do not do these things you will not appreciate the experience.
No matter what you choose to do, you will have to start with awareness. You will have to start by just opening your eyes. It's really that simple.
Live With A Sense Of Awareness
Life should be lived with a sense of awareness. We should always feel in tune with what is around us, no matter how busy or caught up we are in the moment.
The first step in being more aware is simply becoming aware. Awareness is the first step to changing anything. Awareness is the first step to living your life. You can be aware of your surroundings without being caught up in them, without being weighed down or oppressed by them. This is how to start making better choices. This is how to start living a life, not just doing a job. This is how to start putting your health first. This is how to start taking care of yourself. This is how to start taking control of your life.
You have to be aware of your thoughts, too. You have to be aware of the stories, that you feed your mind with. Do you believe, that you are weak or do you believe, that you are strong? If you are the first, you will find yourself oppressed by your surroundings. If you are the latter, do you feel in control? If not, you will constantly question your decisions and find yourself overwhelmed. Either way, your choices will reflect this mindset. This is why it is so important to simply be aware.
The Little Things That Mean A Lot
You can appreciate the little things throughout your life, no matter how small they might seem. You just have to know, when something is worth cherishing and when it is not.
The trick is in knowing the difference. It might seem like a simple decision, but there is a process to it. It just takes a little bit of awareness and a lot of experience to be able to make that call.
For me, it boils down to three questions. One: will this matter in a year? Two: will this matter in ten years? Three: will this matter when I am old and gray? These questions can help you determine if something really is a worthwhile thing to appreciate. For example, if the answer to all three of those questions is no, then you most likely should not be cherishing the moment. Some things are worth being mindful of and some are not.
You have to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. The key is in being able to tell the difference. That's the fun part. No matter how hard or easy that might be for you, you will have to learn the difference.
The Process
The first step in the process is to really stop and just be aware. Observe your surroundings, but don't let them rule you. If you take the time to really look, you will see more, than what is obvious. You might see a beautiful tree, that no one else notices. You might notice a squirrel building its nest. You might notice a spider crawling on the wall. There are so many things, that you are likely to overlook if you are not looking.
With awareness comes focus. You will have to hone your ability to focus if you want to be able to pick the real gems from the common ones. You can't filter out the noise of the world, but you can filter out the unimportant parts of it.
Once you have the basics down, you will have to apply it. There are so many ways, that you can apply it. You can focus on a single moment in time and try to hold onto it for as long as you can, savoring the experience. You can focus on a single memory, that you have and try to re-live it, to remember it as if it were happening for the first time. You can focus on a single experience and try to recreate it as best you can. You can look for the good in every situation, no matter how bad it might seem at the moment.
All of these things are valid ways of approaching the concept of savoring the little things. The more you do it, the better you will get at it. There is no one way that is the right way.
A Call To Value
It might help if you think of this in terms of a choice. You have the choice to value the little things or to ignore them. That is what this is all about. You have to make a choice.
The second step is to really consider the consequences of your actions. You need to be able to weigh the benefits against the costs. You need to be able to look at the situation from all sides before acting. If you choose to ignore the things of little value, you will still go through life as you have before.
The world will be the same, when you decide that it is no longer good enough. That is a very real possibility. Even if you choose to focus on the good, you might end up with a skewed perspective.
The third step is to just relax and let the little things flow into one another. Be patient. Life is a process. This will all work itself out.
Thank you for reading.
Was telling a friend of mine via phone call just one hour ago that she should sometimes take a walk out there to see things from a different perspective and she'd appreciate life even more.
I sometimes go to eateries, sit down and observe other people then I realise that they're not exactly happier than I am but they know how to appreciate the little they have.