I love food.

I know most people enjoy it. We all eat things we like, for the most part. It’s a part of that biological incentive to keep eating. Y’know, so we don’t die.

But I really love food. Tomorrow, I’m going to have a curried egg and lettuce sandwich, and honestly I’m already looking forward to it. I love curried egg and lettuce sandwiches. Something so simple is something that can turn my day about.

It’s been suggested that my standards may be a little low. I get that. On the contrary, though, I constantly look for things to be joyful about. It’s related to gratitude, and giving thanks for whatever I have, day after day.

In Australia, food is something often taken for granted. I know I often do. I rarely wonder if my supply of food is going to run out. If something in the house runs out, I can always get more. My life necessities are quite secure.

Yet it’s something important to me, regardless of the importance I do or don’t choose to place on it. It might be small in the grand scheme of things, compared to say, the excitement of getting your dream job.

What I’ve found, though, is that seeking joy in the smallest things makes it easier to find joy elsewhere in life. I’ve been told recently that part of the problem I’ve had with finding happiness in my own life is that I keep moving the goalpost. I’m frequently not content to be appreciative of what I have, and would rather be constantly seeking something else.

The more I’ve aimed to be happy with the little things in life, the easier I’ve found it is to be comfortable with the larger things. I’m still living at home, for example. I have few short-mid term financial prospects. I’m likely going to spend several years at university. I still feel nowhere near close to getting my novel published.

I’ve been doing my best to see these problems a different way. I’m financially stable, even if that does not mean financial independence. I have a fulfilling learning experience ahead of me, and will finally be doing something I feel vocationally called to. I have learned far more in the past two years about writing than all my previous years of writing combined, even if that hasn’t led to a publishing deal just yet.

These are things I aim to find enjoyment in, rather than more problems. The simpler things in life might not seem to count much on the surface, but they make for good practice. If I didn’t learn to enjoy the very smallest things as more than mundane necessities, how could I ever enjoy the very greatest things as the stepping stones in life that they truly are?

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay