Enjoy the Small Moments

This morning I was looking at a book I have sitting next to the computer, and one reading on enjoying the small moments jumped out at me.

I've been so busy the last few weeks trying to finish up some crafts, get some much-needed straightening and homekeeping done, getting gifts wrapped and mailed, working on Christmas cards and letters, doing the usual tasks like laundry and grocery shopping, and trying to finish up this semester at school and getting my students ready for their final on the 19th. I've had plenty of time for myself, too, to check my favorite blogs, keep up with email and my lists, enjoy some holiday movies and shows, and taking a day to visit my favorite quilt and needlework shops. But I haven't paid attention to the small moments. That's what the chapter in the book was all about, so I thought I'd share it with all of you :)



This is from the book 52 Simple Ways To Make Christmas Special by Jan Dargatz (1991).

ENJOY THE SMALL MOMENTS

Advent is a good time to make a decision to enjoy the "small moments". Pick them from the myriad of dazzling impressions and savor them, as apples plucked from a heavily laden apple tree.

"But, how can I decide that?" you may ask. Just do. Say to yourself, "I will find beauty and pleasure in many small things this season. I will savor each moment as special. I will gather memories as the ripe fruit of this season. I will choose to receive what God and others give."

Become Attuned in a New Way Capturing the little moments requires only that you choose to activate your senses and become attuned in a new way to what may have become ordinary.

~ Chose to smell Christmas. Crush a small twig of evergreen in your hand. Stop to stir up the potpourri at least once a day. Stick cloves in oranges and scatter them throughout the house. Simmer a blend of holiday spices in boiling water on your kitchen stove to fill your house with a holiday aroma.

~ Choose to see Christmas with new eyes. Stop to stare. Don't whiz by the elaborately decorated Christmas tree at the store's mall entrance. Pause for a moment to enjoy its beauty, to take in the design and color and texture. Take time to watch the icicles melt from the edge of your roof or to watch the ice webs form on your windowpanes.

~ Choose to hear Christmas in a new way. Listen for the sound of those Salvation Army bells. Kenneth always gives his two little girls, Carolyn and Cathy two quarters before they go shopping, "one for each pocket." And then they "Listen for the bells." The secret mission of each shopping trip is to find at least two bell ringers and to give each one a quarter. "Listening for the bells keeps their minds less focused on the abundance of toys in the store windows," says Ken. "And it gives them an opportunity to give at Christmas. All in all, the girls probably contribute only a total of ten dollars, but I think they have a sense that they are truly involved in the charity of the season. I hope that their giving will beocme a lifetime pattern."

~ Choose to enjoy the many textures of the season ~ the slippery wrapping paper, the embossed greeting card, the satiny ribbons, the velvet skirt, the taffeta dress, the fur-trimmed coat, the wooly mittens, the mohair sweater.

~ Choose to taste Christmas in small morsels. Choose just one bite of everything from the buffet table. Savor each bite fully. Try a new flavor of tea or coffee. Give yourself five minutes to nibble a cookie.

Make Christmas a sensory sampler. Gather its small moments and weave them together to create your own holiday tapestry of sights and sounds and smells and tastes and sensations.