I am participating in the #WordsMatter Blog Hop for December 2019 hosted by Corinne, Shalini and Parul. The prompt for this month is “If I could give/receive one gift….”.
A happy memory is a wonderful blessing because every single time we reflect upon it, a sense of joy unfolds and fills our soul with positive emotions. As I sift through my favourite memories, I chance upon a beautiful sunny day in the hills, where we lived, and how a red diary that popped up from a box that day introduced me to the art of diary writing and journaling. I couldn’t have asked for a better gift as a child. My collection of books and my red diary were my pride—one that I treasured beyond measure and which in many ways led me towards the love for the written word. But, more than that, it made me reflect on things around me. It was just the beginning, of course, but a beautiful start to a journey that taught me to introspect on the bigger picture of life. That gift changed my life in more ways than I could ever have fathomed then.
Years later, every time I’ve thought of gifting something to someone, I’ve had to spend hours deliberating upon the perfect item—one that would really make the receiver happy. With varying choices and multitudes of options to choose from, it has now become a tough call to zero in on the perfect gift to give. So many choices and so many options to choose from. And, if I do find the right gift, the question that most often pops in my head is—Would the person be really happy to receive this gift?
So, today when I had to share my thoughts on the one gift that I’d like to give/receive, I decided to change my perspective and look at our lives in a slightly different way. And guess what, I came up with something completely different. I surmised that since there is no dearth of things we aspire for, our longing for objects/things will also never cease, and our sense of discontent will continue to find a home within our hearts, lurking forever in some corner of our souls, destroying our peace, leaving us unhappy.
A perfect foil to that would be a sense of contentment within our hearts. That would be the best gift ever.
See, it’s not actually the gift that makes us happy. It’s how we receive it. It’s all in the frame of mind that we possess when we receive it. Even as we continue to progress through life and work on bettering ourselves every day, it is important to be happy being who we are and content with whatever we already possess. Only then, can we work on being the best version of ourselves. It may not happen right away, but over time, if we start believing in it, and apply ourselves to it, it will reflect on all aspects of our lives, fill our souls with gratitude and leave us much happier than we can ever imagine, even if we possessed all the precious things in the world.
Contentment brings us peace and lets us enjoy being in the present moment, it encourages us to savour the precious minutes with our loved ones, helps us treasure what we are already blessed with and not continue to live in the distant future that forever eludes us. Life is here and now. And what we have is enough. What we are, is enough to make us happy. Contentment lies in the mind!
Leaving you with a few things to ponder upon this nippy Friday morning and a beautiful thought-provoking poem as well. Do read it aloud if you can and see how it wraps you up with the most wonderful feeling—yes, that’s what contentment is like!
The Joy Of Little Things
It’s good the great green earth to roam,
Where sights of awe the soul inspire;
But oh, it’s best, the coming home,
The crackle of one’s own hearth-fire!
You’ve hob-nobbed with the solemn Past;
You’ve seen the pageantry of kings;
Yet oh, how sweet to gain at last
The peace and rest of Little Things!
Perhaps you’re counted with the Great;
You strain and strive with mighty men;
Your hand is on the helm of State;
Colossus-like you stride . . . and then
There comes a pause, a shining hour,
A dog that leaps, a hand that clings:
O Titan, turn from pomp and power;
Give all your heart to Little Things.
Go couch you child wise in the grass,
Believing it’s some jungle strange,
Where mighty monsters peer and pass,
Where beetles roam and spiders range.
‘Mid gloom and gleam of leaf and blade,
What dragons rasp their painted wings!
O magic world of shine and shade!
O beauty land of Little Things!
I sometimes wonder, after all,
Amid this tangled web of fate,
If what is great may not be small,
And what is small may not be great.
So wondering I go my way,
Yet in my heart contentment sings . . .
O may I ever see, I pray,
God’s grace and love in Little Things.
So give to me, I only beg,
A little roof to call my own,
A little cider in the keg,
A little meat upon the bone;
A little garden by the sea,
A little boat that dips and swings . . .
Take wealth, take fame, but leave to me,
O Lord of Life, just Little Things.
Now, I’d like to ask you—what’s that one gift that you’d like to give/receive and why would it matter so much to you? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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I am participating in the #WordsMatter Blog Hop for December 2019. I received this tag from Jyothi Nair who blogs at MyBucketListDiary.Com It’s my pleasure to pass on this tag to Menaka Bharati who blogs at SimpleIndianMom.in. There are 25 of us on this Blog Hop and it will be spread over 3 days – December 6th to 8th, 2019. Do follow the #WordsMatter Blog Hop and prepared to be surprised!