In Praise of Small Joys

A child I know cupped a duckling in his hands last week and pressed his forehead to its head. I have not stopped thinking about his face.

We are taught to chase big things. The promotion. The milestone. The holiday we photograph more than we feel. And the big things do arrive and they are good, but they are not what I remember at the end of a hard week.

What I remember is small. A daisy handed over by a toddler with total seriousness. The first sip of tea while the house is still asleep. A dog leaning its whole weight against my leg. Light through a curtain.

Joy is not a destination. It is a series of small arrivals you have to be present enough to catch.

Nobody hands you these. You have to slow down enough to notice them and noticing is a skill like any other. It gets stronger the more you use it.

So this weekend, collect a few. A duckling. A daisy. A warm cup. Let the small joys be enough, because they were always going to be the thing you remember anyway.