Little things

Life happens between an inhale and an exhale.

It's about the little things that we forget are there.

My life lateley has been so caught up in the do's and the don'ts, the haves and the have-nots, focused on all the wrong things. When you're in college surrounded by thousands of people who all seem to be having the time of their lives, you start to focus on what they're doing that you're not. But, you forget to live your own life.

The other day I was feeling particularly stressed dealing with what the rest of my life is going to look like. I was so worried with where my life was heading that I forgot I was actually living RIGHT NOW. So, I took a bag of oats and my roommate to go feed the ducks on campus. Let me tell you that was the best experience I have had in a long time. It sounds stupid... just sitting there watching the ducks, but to be honest, it brought a little spirit back to me. They reminded me that I had only glanced at them in passing before. I never noticed their interactions, the way they move with and around each other. It reminded me that I wanted to pay attention to the little things. I wanted to be able to see how the rest of the world around me was changing, too. I didn't want to miss all the good around me.

When we start paying attention to the little things, we can more fully appreciate ourselves and our lives. When we're not focused on what everybody else is doing, we have the time for ourselves. At that point in which we are spending more time with ourselves, we start to blossom with graditude and appreciation for our own lives. Letting go of comparison, jealousy, and social circle norms allows us to sow the seeds of our own happiness. When we actually focus on ourselves and do things that we enjoy doing for ourselves and not for the sake of others, we water those seeds so that we can finally start blossoming.

When you are stressed, feeling less-than, wishing something for yourself, or feeling at all lost, you need to stop. Take a breath and let go of whatever is on your mind. Maybe take a walk and try to appreciate all the things you never noticed before. There is so much richness to this life that we all miss when we get stuck in this social superficiality. Some great advice I received years ago was to ask yourself if it will matter in the end? Does the thing that is upsetting you really matter all that much? Will it be important in an hour, a day, week, month, or year from now?

Take a step back from your ego, and look at who you are, what you represent. Do you like what you see? If you don't, change it. If you do, that's great... what can you do even better than you are now? It all starts when we shift our focus from the entire landscape to a single point right in front of us. You don't want to miss out on what's right in front of you by trying to capture the whole scene at once.