The other weekend, Mr. Muse and I were running errands here, there, and everywhere, which included the grocery store. It was a rather busy day, and there were people and carts everywhere! But, as we turned into the aisle housing the canned soups, I heard a little voice utter something that first, gave me pause, second, made me laugh, and third, reminded me that in life, it’s the little things that count.

A little girl in a purple coat wearing a hat with a pouf on top and mittens dangling from her sleeves on a string rounded the corner to stand in front of the canned soups. Standing, arms akimbo, she said, “Well, Hello Campbell’s soup! Which of you are going to come home with me today?!” She clapped and rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

I think she was probably about 7 years of age, but she was excited for soup, and filled with joy at the task of choosing which of those lucky cans would make it home with her and her family. It was mere moments later, a bit further away, that I heard “Ooo! Chicken Noodle!” I was already laughing and trying to keep my volume to a more conversational level as I relayed what I’d just heard to Mr. Muse. But there was something utterly adorable in this child’s enthusiasm for a simple food that we all seem to take for granted.

That enthusiasm for the simple is something from which we could all glean an important life lesson: take joy in the little things.

We don’t need to fill our lives with bigger, better, and more expensive, because usually striving for those items comes at the expense of the little things. If you find joy in the striving – by all means, continue forth on your mission, but I have found that, for me, the striving is often a producer of immense stress. Stress, isn’t good.

So, remember the little things, the first snow of the season (or the fifteenth), a nap in a sunbeam, a good book and a warm mug of tea, a purring cat in your lap….

Or, a can of chicken noodle soup that is lucky enough to be picked by you and brought home.

What “little things” bring you joy?

The Amusing Muse is a writer, gardener, and decent human being who lives in Southern Wisconsin. She is experimenting with a mash-up of a Commonplace Book, journal, and planner this year, and hopes that it helps bring All The Things together in one handy location. She’s also using it to practice writing with daily prompts – because sometimes we just need someone to tell us to write about something.

Clipart in blog title image courtesy of Pixabay.