Things are as they are, not as they should be!

J is for… Joy of Little Things

a-to-z-letters-j
All of us want to be happy, yet it eludes most of us. Is it because we expect the happiness to come from big things….’I’ll be happy after I get married’, ‘A promotion at work will make me happy’, ‘An overseas vacation would fill my cup of joy’… If we wait for us to be happy and enjoy after a certain big thing happens, we would have missed a lot of joyous moments in life.To have a truly happy and peaceful existence, it is necessary to find happiness in small things. Life is made up of little things, so enjoying them for all their worth is bound to make for a more happy life.

The little things in life that give me joy are :

  • Listening to an old song after ages and the associated times and memories flash in front of you
  • A sudden warm hug from the child
  • Having the swimming pool in the apartment complex all to yourself for an hour
  • Getting that perfect shot with your cameralittle things
  • Exchanging a smile with a stranger
  • Sharing a hilarious joke with a friend on Whats App
  • The perfect cup of tea in the morning
  • Sitting on the bed and reading a good book
  • While you finish the chores, husband cooks a fabulous meal
  • The mesmerizing beauty of the nature
  • Kneading a perfect dough with the Food Processor
  • Having some awesome conversations with a friend
  • Eating your favourite dish after a long time
  • Striking a conversation with a co-passenger and find that you have a lot in common
  • Observing the fishes move in an aquarium
  • Getting up in the middle of the night, a look at the watch and realize there are still a lot of hours before it is time to wake up.
  • Watching a movie you wanted to see for a long time on TV
  • Finding a dress that fits perfectly and is at a reasonable price too
  • Watching the squirrels nibble at the bread which was left out for them on the balcony wall…

No matter what stage of life we are in, there are always small things to enjoy and savour.
JoyIn your life, what are the joys of little things?

74 Responses

  1. So true !! Happiness in life comes from the smallest of the things and at times when you aren’t even may be looking for it.
    BTW, read all your entries for A to Z challenge and loved them all.

  2. Wow I could imagine you doing all. True that
    Joy of little things . When ever I meet my 2 yr old nephew my mood becomes joyful and music ya does wonders

  3. We picked the same topic for J day! Haha.
    I like your list of things that give you joy. I was going to do this for H (happiness) before deciding to switch topics.

    From the A-Z neighborhood,
    Dee is for Deecoded

  4. Life is made up of simple pleasures … We must learnt o enjoy them ..
    For me its seeing the sunrise, a good cup of tea, flowers in bloom, a good book, chatting with a good friend !

    1. Oh yes, somebody said, life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything. 🙂

  5. Eating a fave dish, getting a cheap dress that fits perfectly and waking up just to see there are more hours to sleep tops my list!!
    I’m a happy person as well – knowing fully well how to extract joy from each moment. And I truly believe that it’s a rare gift 🙂

  6. Superb list Shilpa. Indeed the little things in life are so joyful if only we will pause and appreciate. To add to your list: An honest compliment, when a friend pings after a really long time, a chat with my sister or dad, when Coco comes and places his head so thoughtfully, when my kids say that I am the best cook in the world, when hubby says something nice in his matter-of-fact way :). And the list goes on…

    1. Aha! These are some really joyous moments, indeed. They say it isn’t the big pleasures that count the most; it’s making a great deal out of the little ones!! 🙂

  7. Same as your list and maybe some more. Very good to read about them. It is true, we have to be happy we are alive, laughing with no illness, for that day, I think this much is enough for us to start the day. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is unknown, we have only the present, and let us live in the joy of the present.

  8. And what a joyful discovery…your post this morning…to appreciate the little things of joy 🙂 Lovely & joyful, indeed!

  9. happiness is a state of mind.I have made a draft of these little things like my son’s chatter, the smell of the mud after the first seasonal rain, my daughter’s ‘awesome ma’ when i cook food, when the H comes home early…..you know all those little packets of joy which makes life so beautiful than owning a villa or a huge car or whatever.. Beautiful bullet list, shilpa!
    Good going…. crossing two weeks of A-Z challenge with meaningul posts go…go..go…

  10. Very true!!
    Hearing the same song as soon as u tune into FM, the one U just thought about.
    Spotting an old memory card and finding some old pics that u thought u had lost or had even forgotten about about it
    A few things that happened with me recently 🙂
    As they say, Stop searching forever; happiness is much closer than you think.!!

  11. Small joys…when you receive your online order of books 🙂 when your toddler gives you a share of her broken biscuit :)When you see a nice comment on your blog 🙂
    Lovely list…and we sometimes ignore them so easily 🙁

  12. Love this one. I was smiling throughout… 🙂

    Adding a couple of mine,
    Watching the seedlings you planted grow..
    Forgetting to kiss my Mom goodbye, then run back to see her beaming..

  13. This post resonates with my J post on so many levels! Happiness is a choice and a very easy one at that. My happiest moments occur when I am alone in the room, talking loudly, making faces and laughing like a hyena 🙂

    Akhil Kalsh, 1hundredworks.wordpress.com

  14. Shilpa, this post warmed the corners of the heart. I’m gonna make my ‘smile list’ and paste it on my cupboard. So whenever I am in a foul mood, I’ll read it and remember to smile. Thanks for the reminder 🙂

  15. Very true, and I totally agree! Sometimes, in search of happiness, people miss out a lot of little things in their life. It’s similar to being greedy..like you wait for bigger happiness, and finally end up getting nothing, and miss out on little things that make you smile. It’s totally up to us to see things positively and be happy at every moment that we live. I love every bit of my life, and I find happiness everywhere – when I open the door for husby, when I talk with a friend, when I see sunshine / or a flower / dog etc. That makes life worthwhile!

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