Learning to Take off My Dung Coloured Glasses

Happiness: the fleeting dream that eludes most of us.  I am often miserable, pressed for time, running around  in my insular little world, only catching glimpses of the world around me as I peer  through dung coloured glasses. Yet the solution to my dilemma is remarkably easy.

Stop.

Take off my dung coloured lenses.

Look and really see all the blessings around me.

Appreciate and allow gratitude to come to life within me once again.

A therapist would charge you hundreds of dollars to teach you how to do this, calling this method cognitive therapy.

I will give you this key to happiness for free.

I discovered this secret after years of mothering my tiny children. They taught me to take my eyes off my exhaustion and to take delight in the plethora of tiny details all around me. Little kids are born with a sense of wonder and the ability to enjoy little things. My daughter’s retain an appreciation for detail; they all remember the little things.

.

Examples:

• A friend of mine, Martha, once asked one of my daughters, when she was about six, what she liked most about Christmas. She replied immediately,

           “The pineapple in the fruit bowl"

My daughter’s answer astounded Martha.

• Similarly, one evening before dinner Claire, now a young adult, said,

           “I always remember the fresh smell of clean sheets every week.”

           Such a small thing, yet a child, with a heart full of gratitude, takes great pleasure from it.

• A few months back,  Claire was recounting how pleased she was with a plant in her garden. Realizing that she was enjoying such a small thing she laughed,

           “Oh my god, I sound just like Mum.”

.

• The things that raise my spirits are usually small and most people would not consider them significant. For example, one Christmas I was very tired and only one gift brought me genuine joy. It was hand crocheted dish clothes from my friend Cathy. ..dish clothes, beautifully made, colourful, something I used a hundred times a day.
• .

Perhaps this is one of the blessings of a large family; free cognitive therapy from a crew of little people who greeted each morning with wonder and awe.

What am I thankful for now, at this moment? I am grateful to be alive, breathing and healthy with a husband of 35 years, nine healthy, kids,. four kid-in-laws and 5 grandchildren who turned out so well that I am speechless and teary eyed with relief and gratitude.

.

Are You More Like an Ant Than a Christian?

photo from Rajan's Bog http://rajan3066.wordpress.com/author/rajansdb/

Sometimes the activities of man  remind me of ants. Ants scurry about, eyes trained on the ground, fixated solely their own tiny society. Often this narrow view-point leads to disastrous results, with whole colonies wiped out of existence when the macrocosm surrounding them crashes into their little world. It is impossible to communicate with an ant. Any offer of help frightens them because anything that intrudes into their microcosm is a threat.ground before them, hauling loads of food that are bigger than they are. They are completely oblivious to the world around them.

I have often thought that much our life resembles the life of an ant. I run around busy with tasks, keeping my nose to the  proverbial grindstone, oblivious to the realities of the rest of human society never mind the universe. When nature or the Spirit tries to break through to help me, I panic, feel threatened and run away, returning to labour in my little microcosmic prison where I feel safe. My earnest striving is counter productive because it isolates me from larger realities that surround me.

Fortunately, God was and is creative enough to find ways to reach us. He only needs a sliver of an opening in my heart, a quick glance in His direction or a fleeting thought to make a connection with me. In fact God became one with all of us, in a sense he became the equivalent of an ant, so he could speak, touch, love and become visible to"ants" on earth