Today, I Woke UP And Smelled The Coffee

Today is one of those 'It's great to be alive days' The sun, which couldn't be shining brighter, feels so good I want to drink it in. Nothing about today is really different. I'm realizing that I have this great appreciation for the absolutely mundane, that hot cup of coffee, the early news show, the crossword puzzle, my adorable but crazy dogs, and most of all my husband who after all these years is comforting and fun to be around. If you haven't guessed, I'm a mature woman whose been retired for the last couple of years, and basically a homebody. Maybe because I'm just getting over the flu and completely exhausted, but until experiencing this epiphany, I was feeling down in the dumps surrounded by a messy cluttered house and wondering how to get out of my doldrums. Suddenly, all the little things that have been bothering me seem so unimportant. Nothing seems too big a problem to tackle, while only yesterday I was totally overwhelmed. It occurred to me that just the state of being can feel good. Everything else is a bonus. Will I continue to feel this way? I hope so. But now I know that even when life seems really impossible, if I just let the dark clouds pass, the sun really will come out again. What's important to remember is that nothing monumental has to be going on for us to appreciate our existence. Just experiencing each and every moment and taking pleasure from wherever we can find it is actually more satisfying than the main events we often seek to make us happy. It's kind of a Zen thing and for many of us, needs to be cultivated. The old expression "wake up and smell the coffee" suddenly has real meaning.