Enjoy the little things in life

“Being able to smell the fresh air and disconnect from the news and your phone — there’s nothing like it.” — John Ward quote from 60 Best Nature Quotes That Capture the Beauty of the Outdoors

Normally, I focus my writing on building financial literacy as that’s a subject near and dear to my heart (My Journey to Build Financial Literacy for Young Adults). However, life is more than about just our day-to-day existence and today was a day that I had a reminder of that — there are so many little things in life that make living worthwhile beyond our day-to-day concerns about jobs, money, school, etc. Learning to experience and appreciate those things is a very important part of living a happy and fulfilling life.

A simple example is the beauty of nature. I live in Southern California, which is one of the sunshine capitals in the world. Recently though, we have had what seems like unending waves of rain and full cloud cover. Thankfully, today was the first day in several weeks which was sunny.

My wife and I take daily walks each morning to maintain our health. The last couple of weeks, with all the rain, we’ve been unable to do so and have really missed starting the day with our walks. So, when the sun peeked out this morning, I excitedly stepped outside for a long overdue morning walk.

Seeing the sun, breathing in the fresh air and just looking at all the vibrant grass and green plants really made my day. I was able to forget all my daily issues such as concerns about my latest project at work or which bills need to be paid and just marvel at how beautiful and resilient nature is. When I got home, I was energized and happy and was able to tackle work with a positive and healthy attitude — what had been problems before were now interesting challenges to scale. It’s amazing how much of a difference there has been in my day from this morning’s walk.

Today’s experience really reminds me of something that we all forget in our busy lives — how important it is to take some time on a daily basis and just enjoy the world around us. Life truly is short so take the time to appreciate what you have. This is certainly a mindset and skill that I didn’t have when I was younger. For those of you who are reading this post, especially those who are still in your younger years, I hope you learn this lesson a lot earlier than I did. Your “future you” will definitely appreciate your having done so.

I normally end each of my posts with a few practical steps to take based on the post’s subject. However, I think the lesson from today is pretty simple: Spend some time each day doing the little things that you often pass by and marvel at the beauty and wonder of life.

Thank you for taking the time to read today’s post. If you have any comments or feedback, or if there are any topics aligned with my normal posts aimed at building financial literacy for young adults and their families that you’re interested in my broaching in future posts, please let me know in the comments section or through email at [email protected]. If you are interested in reading more of my posts, please access my author page (https://vocal.media/authors/sudhir-sahay) where you can see all the posts I’ve published. Also, if there are any topics you’re interested in my broaching in future posts, please let me know. In addition to the comments section, I can be reached at [email protected].