Appreciate The Little Things

Appreciate the little things in life, and take note of them, they make life meaningful. Sometimes, they usually appear so trivial that they are easily overlooked.

It is the little things that matter most. Although they come with ease, without effort, so much that we don’t give them much thought or appreciate them until they are no longer there.

We hardly give any attention to a sneeze or a yawn until it becomes a burden like when we have a cold or come down with a virus.

No one thinks so much of something like blinking until you have a peck in your eye or a boil on your eyelid.

These little things are so natural to us that we don’t think they’re worth attaching any importance to.

We don’t take time to appreciate sitting, getting up, passing a gas, sneezing, smiling, or even a good morning from a friendly neighbor.

I learned to appreciate some of these things when I had to be in bed for a while. I had to learn to get off the bed, to sit by myself.

The first time I sat for a whole five seconds, it felt as if I sat for a decade. I was shivering and sweating as if I was carrying a load of sand.

I got the chance to learn to walk a second time. I learned to rise from a sitting position. I couldn’t squat, I still can’t. I learned to climb the stairs all over again. I still do that like a two-year-old by the way.

The funniest ones were learning to know to hold the pee and poo all over again. There was a time they had to wait and even pray that I passed gas.

I remember thinking how passing gas of all things could be so scarce or hard to call up. Those were the hardest.

And sneezing, that was after one of my surgeries. I wouldn’t stop sneezing and the doctors were scared it might rip my stitches. My sister would have to hold my sides and press on the surgery side every time I sneezed.

The first time I was able to sit and turn around to look outside the window. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. I watched for just a minute and it left me happier than I had been in a long time.

My only view at the time was the white ceiling, the lady on my left, and the woman on the right side.

We don’t think so much of these little things. We only realize they were there when we can’t do them, like swallowing your saliva when you have a sore throat. We don’t realize how many times we swallow till then.

Appreciate the little things when you still have them. Whenever I am in the shower and I feel the cold water on my hot or tired body, I mutter “Thank you for the gift of water.” I spent months without bathing. Whenever I crave it, I would comfort myself by imagining it.

We should appreciate them all when we can. The little moment when we set eyes on our loved ones and exchange small smiles, a baby’s smile or chuckle, a neighbor’s wave, partner nags, the small fights. We will surely miss them when they’re gone.

When you pull aside the curtains in the morning or when you step out you’re gifted with a beautiful sunrise. Pause, breathe, and appreciate the beautiful sight before rushing on.

Listen to the breeze, look at the sky in the morning, the clouds, the stars at night. Don’t be too busy to live, to see and feel. These are what make life worth living.

Hug your kids a longer than you used to, breathe in the air around them, hold the smile for a while, and don’t be in a hurry to rush out. They grow up fast.

Learn to be grateful for everything. Enjoy and get to know all you have, all you can do, everything, and everyone around you. Live, that’s what life is all about.

The things we take for granted are the gravest things to lose.

Olufunke Kolapo