Details,
Mere Details
“The
true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the
details of daily life.” William Morris
My
house has reached the tipping point. In every area there is a pile of
something that needs tending to. My porch has really not been kept up
this summer, my basement is stack after stack of eBay this and that,
even my bedroom has stacks of quilts and blankets in need of a
“putting place.” It's time to begin the monumental task of
clearing out.
Taking
care of the annoying details of every day life is difficult for most
of us. If you're wealthy, you can hire someone to do the necessary
parts of existence that you don't like doing. But if you are not
wealthy, you must begin to address the situation one step at a time.
I have finally learned that when I try to come up with a strategy
that addresses the entirety of the problem, I am overwhelmed and
paralyzed. But if I break it down into small steps, I am usually
successful in accomplishing the task in a fairly short time.
The
closest I come to finding happiness in the details is the feeling of
satisfaction I have when the job is done. I can look at the
bookshelf, for instance, with all the books in order and
alphabetized, and get a little thrill at seeing exactly what I'm
looking for rather than searching endlessly for something I know is
there, but can't find. The end result is worth all the unpleasant
work of getting there.
Our
lives consist of the collection of our moments. When we're paying
attention to the details of each moment, we finish our day at least
knowing that we've lived it. Finding the details interesting, whether
or not they are fun, leads, on the whole, to a pretty
satisfying life.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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