Last night, I struggled to sleep. Moving from one side to another, I readjusted my pillows, turned up the fan, and with a smirk on my face, I counted sheep. Those hours in the middle of the night fill silence with more silence. A vortex of the past, present, and future forms a mind-map in your head. Sleep becomes futile. It is those restless fueled nights that lead to irritation the next morning.
I woke up complaining about my lack of sleep and how my whole day . My daughter’s questions this morning hit with annoyance. Dragging my feet out of bed, I walked to make breakfast for her, which only constituted pouring cereal in a bowl and drowning it with some milk. As she ate, I thought about the day and the cloud above my head kept pouring in a litany of grievances. It is so easy to slip in this mode of what is wrong, rather than focus on the goodness that can percolate if you alter your focus on what is right.
My Pandora radio station, on cue, started to play the song, “Little Wonders.” The chorus seem particularly apt for my morning: Our lives are made in these small hours, These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate, Time falls aways but these small hours, These small hours remain.”
It took a second, but the words small hours and little wonders kept whispering in my ears. My mind needed to take a snapshot of the collage of moments that resonated goodness and yes, wonder.
I started running a very different list in my head. My daughter gave me a million hugs before she went to school. My husband told me that on the way there they both sang, Katy Perry’s Roar in surround sound. I took a sip of my fresh, brewed coffee. I texted a good friend who is celebrating her birthday today. In the same breath, I received a few emails that were littered with invitations for dinner. The night before I shared a comforting conversation with my sister. That same evening I took time to make lasagna and homemade tomato soup that I saw my family enjoy. There were good writing moments and epiphanies that popped up during the last week.
As I write this, a quiet fills in my office. The good kind. I notice yet another little wonder.
You’ve described many a morning for me…I had to smile at your description of preparing your daughter’s breakfast, as I had a similar thought this morning when I dragged myself to prepare my son’s snack (rinsing a plum under the water and then sticking it in his snack bag for school) 😉
I am amazed at how easily our mood and view can change simply by sliding a mental switch in the opposite direction. (Lack of sleep is my trigger too.) I don’t doubt that for every annoyance there are 2, 3 or even more positive moments. I am trying to make more of an effort to notice the good too.
Thanks for this reminder!
I have many sleepless nights…I am happy that your thoughts changed your mood. 🙂
All of those small, special moments. They really are wonders. I’m glad you got the chance to stop and appreciate them.
I love it when the message need to hear arrives at just the right moment,
It it sometimes like turning a large ship to shift from a negative mindset to one of thankfulness and gratitude. (That’s our theme this month on middleSage.) All of us get bogged down in our daily grind from time to time, but it’s important to be thankful for everything in our lives – good or bad – because we learn from everything.
Thank you for sharing your turn about with such warm, comforting thoughts.
I love it when I actually decide to get up (if it’s reasonably before I regularly get up, like 5am,) and just snuggle with coffee and a book. Bliss.
Your post seems to be emphasizing a point that has been hitting me over the head recently – it is all about perspective. Music is a great way to turn a dreary day into a cheery day 🙂
Love that song…and it’s wonderful message.