Little Things

“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” – Agatha Christie

Being at home a LOT more than normal lately has let me experience things differently, so here are some small things I have noticed:

1. The birds! They sing and chirp so much! I never hear noises at the office since we are in a taller building that doesn’t have windows that open. I also don’t have a window near my desk, so hearing birds is a nice change!
2. Dishes…*sigh*…I forgot how quickly dishes accumulate when having all meals at home.  Normally, I typically would not eat breakfast, then would have lunch at work and dinner either at home or out at a restaurant, so I would do dishes something like every 3-4 days, depending, but now it’s just an every day thing!
   – I am SO grateful to have food to cook and eat, in which to accumulate dirty dishes. Thankful for the water to wash them and a home to eat them in.
3. I move SO much less. I THOUGHT I didn’t get much activity at work (in a desk/office environment) … boy was I wrong lol! In my tiny (less than 600 sq ft) apartment, I get next to nothing unless I work out or go for a walk.
   – I am grateful for a body that moves and works in ways that allow me to take care of myself and move of my own free will.
4. Sunshine is important. I’ve never been one to lay on the beach much and just “tan” for the sake of it – but without going outside as much now, I do relish the moments of sunshine that I do get.
5. I am now, more than ever, grateful that I had implemented the habit/practice of setting specific spaces in my life for specific functions. I wrote about it in my Success by design post, but by having dedicated space where I do specific actions, such as I only sleep in my bed, I have “fun” or “relaxing” time on my couch, my table serves as my area for eating, having phone/video calls or journaling, and my desk is where I perform my job. Even though I have a small home I am FAR less mentally fatigued than I know I would be otherwise and my body/mind aren’t constantly “confused” by what I need to accomplish, because I am in the right “space” to function.

What have you noticed differently, or more, since times have changed? How can you flip the complaints into statements of gratitude?