It’s All About The Little Things

posted 12th November 2010    Written by: Alisha    CATEGORY: Alisha, All Posts, Family, Life Lesson, Money, Quarterlife Crisis, Season 3, What I've Learned

I gotta tell ya, these happy pills have been pretty amazing.  My body no longer aches.  I laugh.  I talk.  I smile.  Hell, even on those rainy Chicago days that I used to groan about so much, I walk on clouds.  It is amazing!  Now that the fog of depression has lifted, I am able to see just how wonderful my life is.  It isn’t perfect, but wow.  I can not believe how much of the good I could not see.

Even if you are not depressed, I think you can agree that it’s really easy to throw yourself pity parties.  Like, life sucks because you have to buy beer in the cans instead of beer in the bottles.  Or you think you might as well just stop leaving the house because all of the shirts you own are unravelling.  Or maybe you would rather get fat and sick eating off the McDonald’s dollar menu because shopping at Whole Foods is not an option right now.  Perhaps all of your best friends are married and you still spend Saturday nights cuddling your cats.  But that’s all petty shit, ya know?  You probably have about a zillion amazing little things to be grateful for in this life.

And life is as much about the little things as it is about the big things.

Take this cup of coffee.  To the plain old person, it’s just a plain old cup o’ joe (Kirkland’s Columbian Roast) in a plain ol’ mug.  But for me it’s something bigger.

We moved here almost two years ago.  We thought it would be a good opportunity: a chance to travel on a different career path and be near family.  It was a huge sacrifice.  We gave up a lot of money, a lot of stuff, a lot of security to make this leap.  We had no idea that my side of the family would move–taking their free daycare offer with them.  We had no idea that the job we thought would be so great would be so bad; that my father-in-law would be attacked (and finally killed) by that damn cancer; that the winters would be so long, so gray and so lonely.  We didn’t know that money would be so tight that I would have to spend last spring, summer and fall selling my clothes, my purses, my shoes, my children’s toys to make ends meet.  And that when they still didn’t meet, we would go to the food pantry.

Despite how depressing many of those months were, I am happy for the life lessons I learned along the way.  I learned how to use a sewing machine.  (I made some pretty awesome pillows and pants.)  I learned how to bake bread and cook dry beans.  (My chili kicks ass!)  I learned that appearances are decieving.  (The grass is always greener on the other side, isn’t it?) I learned that it actually takes very little to survive.  (VERY little.)  I learned how to dissociate my self-worth from my possessions.  (This was a hard one.  But I finally got it.  I am NOT my things.)  And this led to me being even more appreciative and grateful for all the little stuff.

Like this cup of coffee.

I am so grateful and so happy that I can sit here at my desk and drink this cup of coffee.

(photo credit)

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Comments (9)

9 Responses to “It’s All About The Little Things”

  • nikki_klecha Says:
    November 12th, 2010 at 10:26 am

    I love love love you. You are incredible. And I am SO happy that you are finally feeling happy. xo

  • Accidental Olympian Says:
    November 12th, 2010 at 11:03 am

    Ah, I am working on getting there.

    I'm finally learning that my anxiety has kept me from ever being able to fully be happy. My anxiety keeps me looking for the worst case scenario so that I can be one step ahead of it and avoid disaster. But living in a world where I am always thinking about the worst means before I know it, I believe my life is the worst.

    Hearing that you found that other side gives me hope that I'll get there too.

    Thanks for being so honest about depression.

  • Alisha Says:
    November 12th, 2010 at 3:05 pm

    Yes, you can suck yourself into a grim reality. You will get to the other side. Sometimes it just takes time. Sometimes it takes a lot of work of actively changing your mindset and response to what life throws at you. But as long as you are patient with yourself, you will get there.

  • erinmakesitwork Says:
    November 12th, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    This post made me grin ear to ear for you. I am grateful for the simple things in my life as well. It took me a long time to get to that point stuff. I drive a car that is 12 years old. Some months, it's all I can do to pay my bills. But about a week ago, I looked at my life and realized: I was happy. I've learned to crochet, cook, bake and enjoy quiet nights at home. I am looking forward to a homemade Christmas, knowing that giving means more when you put your love into it.

  • Ali Says:
    November 13th, 2010 at 11:10 am

    Beautiful. This post, and YOU.

  • Alisha Says:
    November 13th, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    Exactly! It's all about your intentions and being able to recognize what is really important in life. A roof, some clothes and some food. It's easy to forget that there are so many people in the world who manage to live with 1/10 of what we have.

  • thisbrokenhearthashope Says:
    November 14th, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    I love all of your blog posts. They are so inspirational. This one makes me want to examine how I live my life. I'm not as happy as I used to be, but in reality I do have a lot for which to be grateful. I need to fully appreciate all that life has to offer.

  • Alisha Says:
    November 14th, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    Awww, thank you so much. I am glad to be of service :) Nikki does something which I also try to do each day which is write down a few things that you're thankful for. No matter how big or small. But writing them down and reading them will keep you looking on the bright side of things.

  • Alisha Says:
    November 16th, 2010 at 11:24 am

    Thank you, Ali :)

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