Big rocks, small stones and simple pleasures

Rainy Saturday in July - sounds gloomy but amazingly it resulted in a day of simple pleasures, lots of smiles and a feeling that life is good! Nothing spectacular happened really - caught Transformers with a friend, a quick walk with the dog, coffee at Starbucks, a couple text messages, and running into an old friend and catching up, oh yeah and J.T. on SNL! Yet, I sit here typing and feeling content and happy.

As is the case with many Americans during the last 16 months of economic downturn, life hasn't been the easiest ride for me. Laid off from work, sold my house, tight finances, battling cancer- each a battle in itself, together something of a tsunami that is often all encompassing - yet as I sit here drinking a latte at the neighborhood Starbucks, I am happier and more appreciative than at any other moment I can remember in the last 20 years.

Why's that? Simple Pleasures!

It easy very easy to be consumed by the world - worrying about bills and jobs, the crisis in Iran, nuclear war heads in North Korea, the quandary about what I will wear tomorrow? Each very important and deserving of thought, but often the focus on the "big rock" issues in our life cause us to overlook the "small stones" around us - you know the one's you used to pick up as a kid and skim across the quiet waters of lake.

Everyone has seen the time management visualization of the glass jar with the big rocks and the small stones. The demonstration shows that if we focus only on the big rocks, there is little room remaining for the small stones and vice versa, but if we work to find balance and fill the cylinder with big and small stones at the same time - everything seems to fit nicely together.

That same theory relates to the issues and circumstances of life. If we spend too much time on the big rock issues we fail to see the small stones and appreciate their importance to our happiness.

What are those simple pleasures in life? For me they include sincere conversation with friends, laughing at something silly, cuddling with my dog, unexpected messages, a Yankee's win, getting caught in a cool rain, hearing "you've been missed," and even a friendly smile from a stranger.

Today was filled with simple pleasures - the big rock issues are still there - but my happy heart can't wait for the simple things that tomorrow will bring! It's gonna be a gem!