What small thing brought you a little joy this week?

[smallwolf]

Hi everyone,

Life can be hard sometimes, so I thought I might try something different here.

And I figured it might be nice to share a little light. Has something (big or small, it does not matter!) that brought you a moment of joy this week?

It could be as simple as a smile from a stranger? Good cup of coffee? a walk? Or something funny your pet did.

I’ll start: After a day when I thought I did not accomplish much, my higher up sent me a text message in the evening, thanking for the help I had given during the day. And this put a smile on my face.

Looking forward to hearing the little things that made your day a bit brighter

[white knight]

I agree with smallwolf, thats gold.

We've had a few bad weeks, My mother 93yo passed away and as I had been estranged for 13 years I had mixed emotions. Then last week was informed that our daughter 35yo has MS. This is on top of bipolar and a suicide attempt some years ago. So just when all was going ok for her this happens and its life changing.

So I've been talking to her every second day about how to cope. On one of those days I mentioned the saying "I felt sorry for myself when I had no shoes until I saw a man with no feet". Well she rang 2 days later saying that, that saying stuck in her head and has injected some grateful thoughts.

A simple saying can do wonders. It made my day

TonyWK

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Tony,

I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your mother, which I know from all you have shared has those mixed emotions, but so sorry too that your daughter has the MS diagnosis.

In 2020 I was diagnosed with a progressive autoimmune liver disease and initially given a fairly depressing prognosis, including that my liver would probably fail in about 10 years. That has proven to be untrue and through working with the gut microbiome in particular it has really turned around with my liver readings stabilising. I just had a look at microbiome research and MS and it looks like a really promising area for that condition as well. Research on the microbiome in MS suggests it can influence the immune system and change the course of the disease. So I just thought I would share that as something to perhaps look into.

That's lovely that you were able to support and encourage your daughter and it's helped her.

Take care Tony,

ER

[smallwolf]

Ditto @Tony.

Small joy today... Eagle's reply in a thread on music thread elsewhere here on the site. It moved me.

[Eagle Ray]

Hello again smallwolf, Tony and all,

I just thought I’d let you know smallwolf that I’m going to teach myself Peacefield tomorrow on my guitar. It’s inspired me to write my own song too but I want to learn to play it first. My electric guitar strings are broken so it’s going to have to be on my acoustic, but I would love to play it electric.

I have a small joy from yesterday. I have got to know a nice couple who run a nearby cafe. One of them became keen on photography a while back and I’ve spent sometime helping him consider different cameras and lenses. I visited the cafe yesterday and he has bought a new camera now and four lenses. He was so excited to share his enthusiasm with me and showed me some of his photos which are great. It was a joy to me to see that it’s made him happy and I was able to support him in this interest. In addition to that he was keen for me to provide a photo for their cafe which I did a few months ago by sending him the image file and he has put it on the wall and made an extra print of it that he gave to me which was really kind. So although I largely felt awful yesterday, I had this brief window of time where interacting with another person helped me to feel better and I felt like I had a positive influence on his life too which made me happy.

[smallwolf]

I think it is interesting that if we look hard enough we night be able to small moments of joy in each day. Just a thought.

I am currently involved in advertising an event and sent an email to a department in a different organisation. And protocol has me CC my managers. Got a compliment on the email I sent! A small moment of joy for me.

[white knight]

Just a little feedback can make your day Smallwood.

My poetry can produce feedback out of the blue. Couple years ago I had a rare low day. I wandered around town lost, going down the suicide trail I walked into my medical centre and a kind older lady held me hand for 90 minutes while my tears fell uncontrollably.

Later I wrote a poem, framed it and gave it over the counter. The lady rang me to ask if they can display it in the waiting room. Of course!. It's still there 2 years later. 

To staff, Clinic
A SHOULDER UPON WHICH TO

CRY
(Displayed in the waiting room)

We men flex our muscles easily
Ready to be at call
But sometimes we can withdraw
Into a foetal ball

And so I decided it be your door
And it wasn't easy to ask
That I felt so unsafe
And you all took upon the task

You never left my side
But I knew I'd be OK
Loving hearts of my clinic
In a most extraordinary way

I'm a strong man that protects
On the day I wondered – WHY?
So thank you for giving me care
With a shoulder upon which to

cry...

I care for others too
Those minds that's aren't so free
Thank you for your efforts that day
That meant so much to me....

TonyWK 

[smallwolf]

nice one Tony 🙂

[Eagle Ray]

Yes, such a lovely and encouraging poem Tony. It sends a message of courage to others to reach out for support like you did.

I had a small thing of joy today. I came to stay in the city with a lovely family I’ve stayed with before in a detached unit next to their house. They left a beautiful message for me and a platter of fresh fruit for me in the fridge. I’ve been through a rough time for 5 weeks and just having such kindness really helps. And as a bonus the sunset was beautiful too 🌅

[white knight]

Mmm, sunsets.

I've told this before, many years ago I was told by a friend to google- Maharaji prem rawat sunset 

So one day I climbed the nearest hill, took his advice and watched the sun go down. A sunset takes 2 hours. So I sat still on a boulder, my feelings mixed at one with nature. Suddenly a small bird landed on my shoulder then by the time I opened my eyes it was gone. An immediate burst of tears followed not from any other reason but the wonder of life. Life had touched me. It was alive.

I haven't watched a sunset like that since. It couldn't be replicated.

TonyWK 

[smallwolf]

that would be awesome... a bird landing on your shoulder!