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This is one of my favorite photos from last year. I was walking in Christ Church Meadow in Oxford with my son Joel and I found this beauty. It delighted me, I felt like a child who had found a precious new toy. It is a picture to me of “Stopping to smell the roses,” or in this case, “Stop to find the biggest leaf and don’t miss the beauty in the moments of your day.”
Every day, perhaps every hour, our lives are filled with potential stresses, irritations, pressures that tempt us to grumbling, anger, irritation. Life is fraught with so many little details that can tend to overwhelm. As a young woman, I had to learn over time to accept the small constant limitations of my normal life and the minor irritations as a part of life, but to not allow these moments to steal my joy.
Instead I made small goals of learning to be thankful and choosing to be content. It is a lifetime quest. I am not there yet. Now, though, my habits of years of practice find me not giving in to being bothered by the little things, not to waste time fretting on all the small details, but instead learning to practice gratefulness for the moments of my days.
On my podcast today, I tell a story of when grumpy mama me had to retreat from a bad attitude so that I could fully enjoy a precious moment to experience joy and laughter with my young children. Join me on Tea Time Tuesday on the Life with Sally podcast. May you have many large beautiful leaves in your autumn days this month.