…the question of professional aspirations could be different from the question of happiness. "I needed to find a way to understand how to enjoy the ride," he told me. "And I think she explained it perfectly." For Encarnación, life is about having a sense of play. You are the one who gets to decide whether you're happy or not. That decision may look like taking time for small pleasures—say, savoring a good cup of coffee instead of merely getting caffeinated. Café con leche, y azúcar en el café.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-documentary/happiness-begins-with-cafe-con-leche-in-encarnacion
Since starting this class, I have tried my best to appreciate the small things a bit more. Sometimes it's something like when we crashed the tent the other day and Professor Oliver made a comment about the breeze. That breeze was nice. Right now, I'm appreciating the way that the individual keys on my keyboard feel. I'm appreciating the feeling of typing this message. I'm appreciating how I can look outside and I see a tree that probably has more stories to tell than I ever will. There are so many interesting things surrounding us at any given moment and it can be quite difficult to realize that sometimes. My father always told me that when he would get worked up, he'd take a walk through the woods. A lot of the time, I think he was just going out into nature and appreciating things. I've said it in a previous post, but for me, I think my meaning is appreciation. I could have everything in the world, but it could mean nothing if I don't appreciate it. So I will continue to try to start small and work my way up. Right now, I'm starting with how these keys feel. We'll see where I go from here today.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good place to start! This is what Wm James called "the intense interest that life can assume when brought down to the
Deletenon-thinking level, the level of pure sensorial perception..." https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16287/16287-8.txt