The little things in life.

Lately, I have been talking to my students about how I stay happy and positive. It is, after all, easy to get ones self down with situations around us. Whether it is wars, famine, poverty or even simple things like weather, commuting time or purely how we see our life and lifestyle. There are many things to keep you happy and positive and probably more than you expect, life is not about just the big positives. It isn't that new car, or the house you want to buy. Nor is it that next big holiday or the new season's fashions. As, to me, all these things are big and hefty and the love of them fade quite quickly and in the instance of something large like a car or house, it means that we worry about the finance of it or potential damage to it forever. No, to me it is the little things that can and do make me happiest. Some of them are purely for me while others are possibly applicable to others. I have no idea who or how many would like any of the things that I have on my list, but here it is:

• Walking on grass with bare feet
• The thrill from surviving static electricity
• The crack and pop of logs on a fire in the dark of night
• Being able to give accurate directions in a foreign city

• The sound of opening a gassed drink on a hot day
• The cracking sound when opening a new book
• Nibbling on dried bread dough on my finger nails

• Getting a smile from a nameless yet familiar face
• Freshly roasted coffee, in fact, anything roasting in the oven
• Putting your hand into a bag of seeds, pulses or legumes
• The eyes of someone who is talking about their passion
• Real genuine leather
• The thwack of the ball hitting the middle

• The feeling of a happy dog's tail as it wags and hits your leg
• Laying on crisp clean white cotton sheets in summer
• A hand written letter that you didn't expect

Autumn veg

• The crisp crunch and snap of fresh vegetables
• The way flour falls onto surfaces and appears like little explosions
• A hint of freshly washed hair in an empty elevator
• The sound of a parrot walking on a hard surface
• Sitting in a sun warmed seat on a cool day
• Soft afternoon light on simple things like read bricks and terracotta roofs

• Long shadows
• The smell of unsmoked cigars
• The squeak of fresh dry snow under your shoes

These were some that came to me some time ago when I was talking about it with Marty, so we both made a list at the time. Things have been added to this list since then but these are all still there.

Here are some from my students:

"Frosty grass and trees on a sunny winter morning" Jola
"Hot sun waking me through my window" Ola

"In the summer in late evenings listening to the sound of crickets" Marek
"Smelling something that reminds me of my childhood" Diana
"Waking up late on Saturdays" Kasia
"To sleep with my cats on my legs" Jolita
"Eating chocolate" Justyna
"Returning home from work on Friday evenings" Artur
"The sound of a V8 engine" Grzegorz
"The very first drop of massage oil on my skin" Ania

What are yours?