I recently returned to attending in person yoga classes, after a period of absence, and it was lovely to say ‘hello’ to the yoga teacher, to have casual interactions with others who were attending, and to express thanks to the teacher at the end. These may seem so little that it appears insignificant, but I feel it is important.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, a well known mindfulness teacher, says, “The little things? The little moments? They are not little.”
A collection of lovely moments and details is what makes up the reality and the beauty of our life. Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up pursuing the ‘big things’, thinking that’s where success and happiness lie. Is this true? This is for each of us to observe for ourselves. What contributes to a sense of contentment and inner ease for you?
Maybe the pace of our life can get a bit fast and we miss the little things? Or we can take things for granted, everything becoming rather familiar? Or perhaps we are caught up in virtual worlds via our screens? Can we go more slowly, pay a little more attention and be more tuned in to the moments?
Lying in my garden recently, I noticed sparkling dewdrops on blades of grass – absolutely gorgeous and kind of miraculous. Some stillness is required to catch such gems.
Rabindranath Tagore says, in one of my favourite verses,
“For many years, at great cost, I travelled through many countries, saw the high mountains, the oceans. The only things I did not see were the sparkling dewdrops in the grass just outside my door.”