The Secret Is The Little Things
By Sian Madge
I think the secret to life is in the little things. To see the beauty, the potential, and the extent to which everyday things can be the secret to the full, content, and magical life we all crave. Everything you do should be done with passion. Take breakfast as an example. We could just grab a piece of toast as we rush out the door. Or, we could take time with our breakfast, put some of our favorite music on as we prepare our first meal of the day. Music on, as we poach our farm eggs, maybe get the juicer out for some fresh orange juice, or boil the kettle for an earl grey tea. We could get out our best crockery, as we put sourdough in the toaster and carefully prepare salmon that will be placed on top. Slice open a ripe avocado and fetch the pumpkin seeds, salt and pepper that will complete the aesthetics of our morning masterpiece. We could eat outside, weather permitting, whilst listening to music or simply sit in silence. Either way, we’ll savor it and experience gratitude as we do so. We won’t rush or be distracted by the news on tv or emails on our phone.
It’s a Saturday evening and we’re having a night in and putting a film on. That could be as easy as grabbing a film and putting it in or choosing something on Netflix, sitting on the sofa, and falling asleep halfway through. Or it could mean getting your favorite snacks in. Chocolate, popcorn, Doritos and dip. You could even make them, make some gooey cookie dough or chocolate milkshakes. It could mean making a delicious dinner of fajitas and grabbing your favorite wine. Grab some fluffy blankets, put up some fairy lights if you so wish. Put on your comfiest loungewear and some thick socks and be present. Don’t have one eye on the tv and one on your phone. In fact, turn your phone off and be in the moment.
You’re running a bath. Add a bath bomb, some oils, some bubble bath. Add a few drops of lavender and light a candle. Place a folded towel at the head of your bath and dry brush your skin. Place a book on the side, along with a drink. Wine, herbal tea, water. Whatever you like. Apply a facemask and saturate your hair in a conditioning treatment. Lower the lighting and lower yourself in. Close your eyes and take a moment. Bathe in the silence, find solace in the solitude. Take a deep breath and savor the lavender. Feel the heat of the water on your skin. Read your book and take your time. There is nowhere you need to be. Shave your legs, exfoliate your skin, wash your hair in your favorite shampoo. When you get out, do it slowly, moisturize and put on your loveliest pajamas. Get into your fresh sheets and let the day melt away.
What if we could apply this much love to other aspects of our life? Make everything this special and place importance on the little things. Because after all, it’s the little things that matter. Being present, showing gratitude, and giving time to the things and the people around us that matter. The things that bring out our light and become the light when we need it. It is so easy to want more without stopping to look around and see what we already have. Concentrate on what you do have, rather than obsessing over what you don’t, because no one promised tomorrow, only now. So choose to live and live now. Freely with passion and love, live wholeheartedly. Live like there is no tomorrow. Stop to watch the sunset on your drive home, savor your favorite sauvignon blanc, dance like no-ones watching to the radio. We’re all guilty of thinking time is on our side and that we’re just waiting for next week, next month or next year to make that change and this change will make us happy, but it really doesn’t work like that. We can be happy now if we just seek it in the right things. The everyday things. The little things.