Soaking in the sun, moments of gratitude

I don’t know if it’s the weather getting colder or if my work schedule has finally allowed me to, but I’ve been going on more lunch-break walks lately. And I’m soaking it all in.

 

I have a certain route that I know I can finish in my 30-minute break that takes me past construction and loops around a park. It’s nice to have my set route, which I take backwards or forwards one day or the other. 

 

But mostly, it’s been nice to unlock myself from the slog of work for half an hour to get outside to breathe the fresh, city air. Lately, I’ve been enjoying people watching and noticing the things around me. 

 

Two days ago, I watched a guy walk the paths of the park while reading a book held up in front of his face. It made me smile as I remember doing that when I was younger. It felt like I was always reading—recess, the car, brushing my teeth, any five minutes I could spare. While I still read while brushing my teeth and now also read on the treadmill, I don’t risk walking outside while reading, goodness knows I’m going to trip. But it was nice to see him enjoying his book while getting some exercise in. 

 

The best part is all the dogs I pass on my walks. There was a very well behaved big, chunky brown lab that was offleash, and as it came trotting down the sidewalk toward me–tongue out and smiling like the happy dog it was–I couldn’t help but smile and chuckle. It didn’t stop to ask to be petted, but walked right past me with its owner following. 

 

I passed another happy dog that made me smile, and when I looked up, I saw the older gentleman walking the dog grinning from ear to ear, which made me smile more. I hope he was proud of his dog for bringing a smile to my face. 

 

And then there’s nature. I got to watch a squirrel frantically dig a hole to bury its nut in the ground, then cover it up. I got to appreciate the lush green grass and watch colored leaves drift downward (yay, it’s finally fall!)

 

My coworkers and I started doing a “question of the day”. One of us asks a random question in the afternoon as a brain break from our work. For a couple minutes, we choose our answer and react to each others’. The question the other day was what our favorite scent is. I struggled to choose, as there are so many good scents, but landed on the smell of old books, pine, and vanilla. And as we discussed scents, I realized I also like the smell of freshly fallen snow. 

 

That got us talking about enjoying the little things in life. One of my coworkers said she had a friend who kept a list of all of her favorite things in life: the warmth of fresh laundry, a homegrown strawberry, the sun after a rain. 

 

The thought of having a list to appreciate all the little things in life we’ve been given made me pause. What an awesome way to be grateful and work to be present in daily life. 

 

Maybe I should start a journal and every day write down one thing that made me pause or led me to appreciate my day. I feel like working to be more grateful day-to-day is a good goal. We’ll see how it goes. 

 

My Determination: “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” ― Jodi Picoult, Small Great Things