“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” ― Helen Keller
In light of recent dialog on how to live with cancer, I thought I would share with you how much the simplest of pleasures can fortify my days. Left is a photo I took this morning of my backyard in N. CA. We have gotten some much needed rain, which means the Sierras are getting snow, which means we’ll have water in the summer to irrigate crops as most of our water comes from snow melt run off.
Anyway, I love watching critters and birds in my suburban backyard carryon with their daily antics. A couple of weeks ago, feeling guilty that I hadn’t gotten to feeding the birds in quite a while, I grabbed a flower pot holder that I use to use in Maryland to put pansies and such in during the summer months in my yard. I wasn’t using it for herbs or anything, so I decided it would be a fun bird feeder for now. I put in clay pot water trays that were a tad too big and wedged them into the frame. I filled two with water and the other four with no waste bird seed. I have really enjoyed watching them and the added bonus is that they hang out in my trees all day singing away.
The other little tidbit was this photo was taken with something called Instagram. It’s an iPhone app that allows you to alter the photos you’ve taken with it on your phone to make them look interesting. Since I’m not a photographer, I need all the help I can get.
When my mother was dying from cancer and I was caring for her, I used to sit out on the back stoop of my yard in Maryland, with a cup of coffee, and watch the squirrels, birds, sometimes fox, play and squabble. It was really the only fulfilling entertainment I could afford at the time and I found that it indeed recharged my soul to get about the rest of my day which was filled with very little except caring for my mother and my family. While I have always enjoyed these sorts of things, it took on new meaning for me and I found I enjoyed in a way I never had.
Even though Dave and I are living our lives to the fullest and we have lots to do, I have found that I still like to take moments to simply BE. To enjoy the simplest of things that come my way each and every day.
Don’t forget, especially you caregivers, to find things that can bring a smile to your heart. A warm sudsy bath, a good book, a phone call with a friend, a casual conversation with a stranger. When you are in the thick of it, these are sometimes the only things you have time for and they will help you get through the long hours of waiting and worrying about things you have no control over.
Look for those simplest of pleasures. They are truly all around us if only we are open to receiving them.
Believe it or not, I think my dog Kip really helped me to look at life differently. No enjoyment was too small for him. He always woke up excited for the day no matter what we did or didn’t do, he was happy. Always exploring and enjoying the simplest of pleasures. While I’m still having moments where I miss him terribly, I have not lost all that he gave me.
PS There are about 18-20 photos in this gallery, so if you are only seeing a few it might take a moment to load them all. 🙂 (And BTW, the photo at the top makes a really nice wallpaper on an iPhone. click on the photo, save it to your computer, email it to yourself and save it on your smartphone and then set the wallpaper in settings. It is very soothing.)
Nature’s Music (I just added this recording done on my iphone)
When Dave and I lived in Ithaca while he was attending Cornell, they had THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS! There were even folk songs written about them. I love sunsets and sunrises. I can just sit and sit looking at them go down or come over the horizon.
When my kids were little, I used to gasp when the sunsets were particularly lovely, and if it happened that I was also driving, it would cause them to become more than a little alert. I would say, after the gasp, “Oh. look at the lovely sunset!” Recently my son gasped as he was driving into the sunset and startled me. He said, “Payback, Mom…. but look at that lovely sunset!” Laughing together we were reminded that many things have created stress in the family, but the sunsets were a reminder that we could still gasp – and laugh – at something worth having your breath taken away.
I’m glad you both appreciate these things. A powerfully simple thing that can bring so much.
lori, i so appreciate this post. what lovely photos, too. what a blessing it is to have the gift of letting nature soothe and enthrall us. just about an hour before the sun sets, it leaves a shimmer of pinkish light that then turns golden. i love that time of day, and sometimes we take a little ride in the car just to see the countryside awash in that fleeting glow of color. it never fails to leave us feeling so uplifed, so priveleged to have had a glimpse of such beauty – we call it the “beautiful time”, and it is. xoxo
Lori, you are singing my song here. It’s the little things that feed my hungry soul each day of this journey. Looking up under a tree canopy, sunrises, sunsets, watching clouds; the sky is always changing. Nothing can take away starry nights & full moons. Love your photos!