Time. Time to be.
Time to stop and appreciate what is around you and to do something for yourself.
Appreciation is an important concept in positive psychology. It is important to practice being grateful for what you have and for what is around you. Most things that make our life meaningful and happy are typically the small things that happen every day.
“When I appreciate the good, the good appreciates in my life.” — Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar
My beloved grandmother was an incredible woman who knew how to enjoy all aspects of her life. She somehow managed to make everyone around her feel special and unique. She was sick for the final years of her life and in her final weeks she knew she was dying.
On one of her last days she called me over and said she wanted to give me some very important life advice:
“Make sure that every day, for 10 minutes, but every day, that you do something for yourself that gives you pleasure. Something where the sole objective is to make you smile. Just for yourself.”
At the time I couldn’t quite understand why, from all the lessons she had given me throughout my life, she had chosen these as her last words to me. As years go by, however, I can now understand the profound meaning of her message.
Enjoy the Small Things
We need to be able to enjoy the small things in life as a way of taking care of ourselves before we can do anything else.
Appreciate what is in our lives and around us every day. And every day, do something for a few minutes that makes you feel good. Not because you have to and not because you should.
The main objective of this practice is to give yourself the time to be, to feel good, to stop, and to marvel at what surrounds you.
My advice to you is to make sure you stop for a few minutes every day and enjoy nature, a friend, a cup of coffee, a walk, a good book, or a movie . . . whatever puts a smile on your face.