Recipe for Creating Days that End with a Smile

Hey Steph,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Ireland. This year's St. Patrick's Day was a bit more sweet for it.

Last night, as I lay in my bed to fall asleep I couldn't stop smiling. It was pretty peculiar. I didn't really have a reason to be particularly happy, but there I was filled with the same happiness I find in mountain hikes and peaches and bagpipes and a good book. I don't know how else to describe it than that I just felt alive. I felt like I was right where I should be. I felt whole.

I realized it was just a bunch of little things that made me happy. It was thinking about being with my nephew (your son) and getting lots of little man hugs from him. It was hearing him pronounce "tractor" like adoo--and then considering all the linguistic processes he was going through to make that word. Steph, your kid (ok, most every kid, in this case) is a genius! I won't go into all the reasons why his pronunciation of adoo makes a heck-ton of linguistic sense, just know that it does and that our brains are awesome! Also, his word for "helicopter" (air adoo) fills me with word formation excitement--go creativity!

Or maybe it was talking and laughing with friends and unintentionally catapulting bread across the gym at a church gathering and suppressing the giggles like the five-year-olds we are that put a smile on my face at the end of the day.

Or was it the early springtime morning walk I took, stretching my legs, filling my lungs with the chill, invigorating air?

I don't know what it was, but I tried to repeat it again today, to some success. I thought I'd share my thoughts on creating a day that ends with a smile:

Source

Option A: Go for a long car ride.
It's best if you go by yourself, but then again car-ride conversations are some of the best forms of dialogue in life. If you're by yourself, take this time to release yourself from all social constraints. Have a chat with yourself or with God. (If it's too much to do this out loud, you can still do it in your head.) Let yourself ramble. Let your mind wander and process and breath. If you like music, go ahead and sing out loud. Sing loud and let the vibrations circulate through your body. 

Option B: Go for a walk
This is a quieter option. It doesn't really matter where, just go and walk, preferably outside, and have no other purpose. Use your eyes. Notice the cracks in the sidewalk, the patterns of snow pack on the mountainside, and the framed-light created through leafy treetops. If you want, listen to some music as you stroll. James Taylor works best. 

Option C: Listen
Sit down with a friend and let them talk. Pretend you're a journalist and figure out what makes them excited about life. You don't need to be overt about this, but just listen, really listen. Giving people the freedom and space to talk makes for some great conversation. And sometimes you don't need to talk and that's fine. There's listening in the quiet too. 

joie de vivre: joy of life that just may be found in the little stuff

Cheers,

The Collector of Small Things

What simple things make you content with life?