a couple of things.....

there's two things i've been doing lately.

one i knew about from the start,
the other one i just figured out i was doing without knowing it.

both seem to be making a world of difference for me.

the first one - the one i actively worked on was this -

i realized that i could grab a buncha things that happened to me in a day -
ten could be wonderful, twenty could be neutral, two could be headaches,
and one could downright suck. and that it was up to me which to choose
to talk about when someone asked how my day was, or when i sat and thought
about my day, or when i felt the need to talk about something.

now, sometimes, the downright sucky one needs to be talked/thought about -
hashed thru a bit. i know that. and am good with it.

but sometimes it's way way easy to just skip it and talk/think about the really
good stuff.

i tried it.
consciously.
with the people close to me.
people i'd go to and talk thru stuff with.
people i would tell anything to.
there were a couple things buggin' me.
but there were a couple things that rocked.

so i chose the things that rocked - talked about 'em, thought about 'em.
and noticed there was no big loss in skipping over the others.

so i tried it again.
wow.
okay.
this is kinda cool.
and a part i liked about it a lot was i flipped thru the events like
they were folders in a file - and i'd just pause over the sucky stuff and
see if it needed talking about.
nahhhhhhh......not really.
and i'd move on.
flip to the really good stuff.
grab those, pull those out, and talk about them.

one thing it's done is show me which sucky stuff matters and which doesn't.
a whole lot less matters than you think.

then, one day, after doin' this a few times,
it happened with someone close to me.
where the sucky stuff happened between us.
where there was a choice -
dwell on the not so good that was goin' on, or realize that there was
tremendous good usually, and this didn't need to be focused on.
and i think having practiced this a few times,
it really was easy to do.

i could trust the act of doing it.
(think that's a real important part right there)

sounds like a no brainer, huh?
but i tell ya......consciously try it.
you might be surprised at what happens.

the other thing that's been goin' on without me even knowing is the
focusing on little things.  the ol' 'it's the little things that make life
worthwhile' has been alive in me without me even realizing.
and i'm wondering if it has anything at all to do with the first thing i just
talked about?

wouldn't it be cool if it was a direct result of that?
i don't know.
but i do know that as i stand and look at my christmas tree,
i feel delighted to see my pinecones all over it.
i had gathered pine cones every time i raked,
and then put hooks on some, sprayed a few with snow,
and got them all ready to hang on my tree.

first year ever it is my tree alone.
and it's got pinecones from my trees,
and strands of popcorn my family and i strung on thanksgiving.
and i love it.
i stand there looking at it with pure delight.

this morning as i did that,
i looked over at my tablecloth on my table.
for some reason, tablecloths have become important to me.
they warm up my kitchen, and make me feel really cozy.
and i love them.

i think it's when i went from looking at the pinecones with delight,
to just standing there admiring my tablecloth that i realized what had been
going on with me with the little things.

i have been eating them up like they're candy.

grabbing the ladder and fixing the christmas lights that went out -
and having them go on with the first touch.

hugging my tree in the wet and cold while trying to put lights around it,
and smelling the deep gorgeous smell of the earth in the bark.

snuggling in my bed when it's freezing cold outside and so warm in my little spot.

getting my pellet stove to light first try and having it feel so cozy.

these are the things that have been keeping me happy. these and a thousand others.
all of them small. and yet not small at all, are they?

not small at all.

none of this is small.
and it's been affecting me deeply.

wanted to share.........