All the little things, the coming and goings of the days, build a nest in my heart where wonder begins to bloom.

Our lives are built upon an endless accumulation of the smallest of actions. It’s all the little things we do or don’t do that come together at certain junctures in our lives and create a giant wave of energy that we either ride or get swallowed up in. Which way we go depends on our approach. In the end, how we meet each moment and the countless choices we make unfolds the stories of our lives. There are many chapters and many emotions that flood in and stream out, but what should concern us the most are the feelings that stick, the ones we carry within us through all the ins and outs of our everyday.

As it turns out the little things aren’t so little. They are what end up being the foundation we build the rest of our lives on. The little things help tip our lives in favor of flow, peace, and joy or frustration, misguidedness, and lack. How we start the day tells us all we need to know about where we are in that tidal wave of energy. If you roll over when the alarm goes off grumbling and complaining, I can tell you right now you’ve got a long day ahead of you. We don’t have to wake up like a princess in a fairy tale singing a duet with a baby bluebird either, but we can start the day with a smidge of gratitude and nurture it into something more.

In order for the sun to flood in we have to pull back the curtains, and this, in fact, is often what the little things amount to, a bit of consistent energy focused on the brightest spots in our lives. Is everything always going to be amazing? Of course not, but more often than not there are more things going well in our lives than we are willing to acknowledge. This is exactly where the little things can come in to tip the scales in favor of delightful anticipation. Another push of the snooze button if you need some extra rest, your favorite breakfast, or a few solitary minutes outside on a beautiful morning to enjoy the quiet and peace. Put on your favorite shirt or your expensive perfume, wear the earrings you only bring out on special occasions.

You see where I’m going here, right? Often we withhold what we love from ourselves without a second thought. We wait it out, we push what we want aside, think we have to earn the right to do what makes us happy, or downplay what really matters to us. We get caught in a maze of our own making, never getting to the center where our heart’s desire waits. It doesn’t have to be one monumental shift in order to make a big impact. The thing about the little things is that they’re cumulative, they add up over time and end up revealing who we are at our core by what we consistently bring into our lives and what we leave out.

So if you find yourself holding out time and again on all the little things you really want, tread thoughtfully, there may come a day when a deluge of dissatisfaction comes to knock you down. You might wonder why today, but the truth is all the little things you’ve postponed and the hesitations of joy have finally caught up with you. This is why it is so important to savor the sweetness life offers as often as you can, because it also works the other way around. Only one day you may wake up wondering what it is you’re so happy about.

I’ll tell where that illusive happiness comes from, it comes from tending to all the little things you love. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time to begin caring for yourself and creating what you want in your life. These accrued actions not only gain momentum over time but the repetition of pointing yourself in the direction of what inspires you changes not only how you feel but the quality of your life. Don’t wait for someday to do, be, live, and love what matters the most to you.

Let that day be today.

kb