A thought for the day

Samuel Johnson wrote:

“It is by studying little things that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible.”

This got me thinking today. The line really touches my heart.

Now, let me share a little story with you.

Some time ago now, my boyfriend and I was working on repaneling one of the outer house walls. We had been doing this for a few days, but still had not gotten the hang of it. This particular day we had to re-do some of the work we already thought we were finished with, which is never fun. No need to say we were both feeling rather down and miserable. I was even pretty mad, to be honest. As often happens when there are two miserable people in one tiny space, we grew quite grumpy and irritated. I was so fed up with bickering and arguing in the end that I was already calling it the day, when suddenly my boyfriend called me over. I was reluctant to climb up on that scaffold yet another time, but as he would not take no for an answer, I finally relented. 

I never regretted it. It changed the course of the day. He had seen a huge beetle, the biggest one he had ever seen, land up there on the walking boards. He knew me well enough to know that I would love to see it (I know, it is not exactly the most romantic thing, but still...), and so decided to forget the arguement and show it to me. The beetle was colourful, had beautiful wings and gracefully greeted us with its presence for several minutes. That small act of kindness and the fun that came with it, lifted our spirits so much so, that after a cup of tea and coffee we figured out the problem and ended up working throughout the day until it was too dark to see. It became a good day. A nice memory.

Focusing on small things really does make a huge difference in my life. This story is just one of many.

I am leaving you with a picture of a grasshopper I saw yesterday. I love the sound of them - it is my proper summer sound and I always feel happy when I hear them. There is something about that joyful sound, filling the evening air...plus they are truly funny-looking creatures!

So cute!