Everyday Canvas

Life...

Prompt: “One of the key happiness principles is savoring. That’s a fancy term for really taking a second to appreciate those happy moments in your life.” In an e-mail sent by Eric Barker of the blog Barking up the Wrong Tree
In how many ways do you savor your life?

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Most of the advice for living fruitfully comes in the area of coping with life’s negative incidents and their traces left behind inside us. I think, however, in addition to that advice, focusing on the good things can not only enhance our enjoyment of life but can also minimize its negatives.

Right now, I am savoring WdC community’s “We Got This”, the way we usually come together and stand firmly behind those of us who are hurting. This shows, even in an unnerving situation, holding hands with each other means feeling the life inside us.

Among other things I usually do to savor life is the glueing of wonderful scenes like photos or paintings inside my mind. When some view moves me, I concentrate on it and tell my mind to remember it when I need it. These scenes are for referral during the times when I feel lonely or need an emotional lift.

A few examples to my mental pictures that have stayed with me:

My aunt intently watching a Mexican soap opera sitting in front of the TV, her back turned to the world with her lovely blonde hair cascading over her back. I recall that the main character’s name was Rosa, although I never watched that novela with her.

The vision of the whole clan-my family-gathered around a large table dining, and us children jostling each other around a separate table. I can see everyone in my mind’s eye, the food, the way people chewed it, the way it was served.

The sounds of our giggles at our wetness, the feel of my clothes sticking on me and rain dripping from my hair into my face and inside my eyes, when a group of us deliberately walked under the rain with no protection

My uncle taking my pictures while we are at the beach. I can see clearly, in my minds eye, his camera, the way he adjusted the shutter and turned the lens around and took a step back just before clicking.

The delightful way the leaves on the trees suddenly started moving when my cousins and I were visiting our great grandfather’s grave.

The smell of my grandmother's pastries

The feel of my husband’s hand in mine, a few days before our wedding, while we were walking in a park at night with only a few lights magnifying the dark ghostlike shapes of trees and benches.

My son waddling about as a toddler with chocolate stains all over his face.

The way the sand sank under my foot while I was watching a wave wash on the beach and then retreat leaving its foam behind.

The sight of our dog Joe jumping on the pile of leaves, I had just raked for bagging later.

The sight of the full moon through lacy clouds.

The sight of several different sunsets from the backyard. All those brilliant colors.

The sight of palm trees…all different kinds of them. How the queen palms on the two sides of roads flaunt their beauty like models on a runway.

I have many special moments like the above examples that I have observed and etched in my brain in their entirety with positive feelings, much like taking in a work of art.

In addition, getting absorbed in what I am doing is another way of savoring life. Where being absorbed is concerned, this type of savoring happens while I concentrate in a task or a moment, losing my sense of time and place. These moments are not for keeps but for immersing myself in them while living them.

Then, the best kind of savoring comes when I think to myself what a gift life is and how lucky I am to be given that gift, noticing, enjoying, and participating in every aspect of it. This type of savoring, then, leads to further inspirational thought that encompasses all creation and its Creator.