Recently I saw a meme that really stuck with me. It was a drawing of a little boy and a man, presumably his father, sitting on a park bench. Above each was a thought bubble. The older man looked troubled as he stared off into the distance, and his thought bubble illustrated why. The man’s thought bubble showed pictures of a fancy car, an airplane, and cash. These were all things that the man must be desiring; a fancy car to drive, world travel, but was perhaps lacking the money to make these things a reality, thus the troubled look on his face. Conversely, the little boy had the sweetest smile on his face at he looked at the man. The little boy’s thought bubble showed one thing; him sitting on a park bench next to the man. The text under the picture stated: “This is why the children are happier”. The little boy was so content to be in the present moment, looking up at his father. But the man was unsettled, as he was not mentally present, but rather was focusing on all the things he did not have at that time.
True contentment comes from appreciating what we have, not by focusing on what we don’t have. We can never be happy or satisfied if we are obsessing on what we want. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t strive to attain those things and make a plan to get them someday (here is a blog post and poem about making goals a reality https://thepracticalpoet.com/stay-the-course-from-sow-seeds-of-wisdom/), and another post about the wonderful feeling when those goals are achieved; (https://thepracticalpoet.com/fruition-of-a-dream-from-sow-seeds-of-wisdom/). But not having those things today should not take away our pleasure in the moment. The little boy was wise beyond his years, as most children are, as they focus on the simple things.
This next poem was inspired by the simple pleasures in life; watching a baseball game on a warm summer’s evening, enjoying some ice cream and feeling it melt down your chin, sensing the crispness in the air as fall approaches, the first snowfall, and the rebirth of spring. All of these things are so amazing and they come and go so quickly. We should focus on all of the feelings as we go through the different seasons in a year and throughout life, and embrace what each season brings us, rather than letting things we can’t control bring us down. Gas and food prices are sky-high and people are stretching every dollar; there is a war going on; the world is newly out of a pandemic. There are so many things that fight against us each day and bring us further into despair. It’s more important now than ever before to firmly grasp these good and simple things in life and hold on to the hope that this will all pass soon. And hold on tight, because there will always be new struggles and challenges.
I remember hearing an interview with a Holocaust survivor. This man said, even with all the horror going on all around him, if he was lucky enough to be able to go outside he would focus on the blueness of the sky, or find the shapes in the clouds. Even when the bitterness of winter arrived, and he had to stand outside in threadbare clothes and bare feet, he embraced the cold, because it affirmed that he was alive. That is what it means to grab hold of the good things.
The Simple Things
When life gets too crazy
And there is too much to do
My head fills with anxiety,
And my stomach joins in too.
How do we as humans
Manage stress from day to day?
How do we prioritize
All the things that come our way?
There always is too little time
And way too much to do.
And not enough time remains
To spend with friends like you.
The grocery bill has doubled
And fuel is on the rise.
My paycheck is diminishing
Right before my eyes.
The stress, it hits my gut,
And settles in my head.
So I try to turn my focus
On good things instead.
Like the cardinal that perched itself
On the windowsill.
Or the beauty of the doe outside
As she stood so proud and still.
The purring of my kitty
As I kissed between her ears.
Or the smile on my niece’s face
As I wiped away her tears.
And her laughter that soon followed
As it rippled through the air;
Clearing away darkness
Floating through the atmosphere.
A mug of hot chocolate
As the snow falls in the night,
Blanketing the world
In a carpet plush and white.
The beauty of a lilac tree
As it comes into full bloom,
With the gray spring day its background,
It overtakes the gloom.
The watching of a baseball game
On a breezy summer’s eve;
The fumble from the outfield
As the ball they can’t retrieve.
The sizzle in the air
On that warm summer night,
The tying run, the tension;
Each team bracing for the fight.
The ice cream cone that was so sweet
As it dribbled down my chin,
And the excitement of the victory
As my team celebrates their win!
The graciousness of the losing team
As they accept defeat,
And congratulate the winners
With emotions bittersweet.
The first frost of autumn
And the crispness in the air;
Suddenly overnight
Pumpkin spice is everywhere!
The changing of the seasons
And the years as they fly past
Should be foremost in our thoughts;
Not that high-priced tank of gas.
There are so many simple things
That we see every day.
It doesn’t change the bad stuff,
Or make it go away.
But maybe . . . just a little bit
We can change our view,
And redirect our focus
So anxiety won’t accrue.
Recasting our thoughts is something
We can all employ,
So that the trying things in life
Don’t steal away our joy.
-K.A. Bloch-
