The wonder of small things
‘Human [happiness] is produced not as much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day,’ decreed Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. Observing from his lofty seat in the 18th century, old Franklin had a point; winning the lotto doesn’t happen that often, but when it does (if you’re super lucky) you’d be smiling from ear-to-ear. But things like winning a bucket of money aren’t the only entities that can make us happy, it can be other things – small things; like getting the green walking man as you come up to traffic lights; getting to the front of a line really quickly; walking through a beautiful, sun-filled park with Spring’s flowers blooming or even having your best friend send you a delightful, unexpected message.
Neil Pasricha is a convert to all things, great and small. After routinely flipping open the newspaper to read the latest murders, terrorist attacks or natural catastrophes, Pasricha decided to shine a little brightness on this world, and devote himself to creating a place where people could come and be happy (not physically, unfortunately, but that’s what Disneyland is for). Embracing the digital environment, Pasricha created a blog, 1000 Awesome Things to ‘…be that one little place where we turn the lights out, put a blanket over our heads, and just talk about popping bubble wrap, or snow days, or the smell of a bakery.’ And it is that place. Some of Pasricha’s awesome things include: walking on grass with bare feet, getting piggy-backed anywhere, fishing a big piece of lint out of your belly button and, my favourite, wearing underwear just of out of the dryer.
The beauty of Pasricha’s awesome things is that they’re simple and universal; anybody and everybody can enjoy, or has experienced what Pasricha finds awesome. One fan, Melissa, commented, ‘Thanks for reminding us of all the simple things in life that make our days awesome.’ Pasricha’s success (his blog has nearly 20 million hits since starting in 2008) can be attributed to a society on chronic speed dial, where the small delightful details of our lives seem to get overshadowed by 21st century worries about work, school and our social lives. According to Lifeline’s annual stress poll, Australians are more stressed out than ever before with 90% of the population currently wanting to rip their hair out. And who can blame them when it seems taking time out is a luxury few can afford. But it’s not just here; people all over the world are feeling a little burnt out. In the UK, Rethink, a national charity for mental health issues found that 66% of young adults are feeling stressed or anxious, at least once a week with money and job worries being top of the list.
In a society where anyone can contact us, day or night, we are constantly switched on, leading to stress, anxiety and feeling so burnt out that lying in bed for a whole day while the sun streams in seems like a far-off dream. So it’s no wonder that we’re all trying to get back to our natural roots, and find pleasure in the smaller joys in life. Sure Benjamin Franklin was a busy man, but at least when he left the office – he left the office. There was no checking his emails, or scrolling through his Blackberry before bedtime.
Elizabeth Gilbert enjoyed a career as a magazine writer and author, but that couldn’t save her from becoming emotionally and physically exhausted from a nasty divorce. Most readers will know her name, or at least her now infamous memoir, Eat, Pray, Love published in 2006, or at least the movie version starring Julia Roberts. Strung out, depressed and needing some self-lovin’, Gilbert decided to do a momentous thing and travel to Italy, India and Indonesia, concentrating on herself, or ‘I’. The three ‘I,’s – get it. But it was the little things in life that she was reunited with; eating, praying and loving. Gilbert is the perfect, maybe too perfect but nonetheless, portrait of someone who took advantage of the little things in life, and achieved major happiness.
‘There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under the jurisdiction. I can decide how I spend my time; whom I interact with; whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I can select what I can read and eat and study. I can choose how I’m going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life-whether I will see them as curses or opportunities. I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which I speak to others. And most of all, I can choose my thoughts,’ decrees Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love.
I remember hearing once that life is the in-between moments; like having to catch the train to work; or doing your laundry on a Sunday morning; or shopping at Coles for a cheap lunch or sitting in the sun with your boyfriend. All the “fun,” “big” and “exciting” moments are the times you remember, like dancing into the night at Parklife or heading to Dreamworld for your summer holidays. But you can’t do those things all the time, unless you invented the money tree that my dad used to always harp on about; but it’s ultimately our happiness at rejoicing at life’s unexpected and random little things that’ll put the smile on our faces.
In an interview with The Journal of Cultural Conversation, Parischa revealed the most rewarding part about blogging 1000 Awesome Things: ‘I’ve had preachers write to tell me they recite these awesome things in their sermons and I’ve had teachers tell me they read them to their third grade class every morning. I’ve had heavier things – suicidal teens, cancer patients – who tell me that focusing on hitting a string of green lights and the smell of bakeries has reminded them of all the small, simple things we’re lucky to live with every day. And then I’ve got people saying, “Hey man, thanks for the smile.”’
By Danielle Hanrahan
(Image Credit : 1.)
