The joyful simplicities
“Landscape with Apple Trees” by Levi Wells Prentice, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
“Year by year the complexities of this spinning world grow more and more bewildering, and so each year we need all the more to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities.” — Woman’s Home Companion, 1935
“With just a little use of attention, good experiences are available to you throughout the day. They’re like low-hanging fruit that you only have to notice. As soon as you notice them, yum! They’re delicious…whenever you like, you can nibble on these experiences simply by noticing them, and letting them nourish you.” — Rick Hanson
These two quotes are nearly 80 years apart in origin, but they definitely relate to each other. We sometimes kid ourselves in thinking that past generations did not have the juggling act we do, or that they lived in a world mostly free of complexity. Through their recorded words, they beg to differ. Things were already growing “more and more bewildering” during our grandparents’ youth.
But Hanson’s quote reminds us that we still have, as always, rich resources from which to draw joy and strength. Look around you and find the joyful simplicities; the “low hanging fruit” that is waiting to be noticed and savored. What will nourish you today?
One year ago today:
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: Autumn, change, everyday life, fruit, gratitude, home, life, love, memories, mindfulness, paying attention, simple joys
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