You can’t really escape the fact that people are struggling to be happy in this modern world. I can understand why - there’s just so much pressure from so many sides, and social media is a real curse as well as a blessing.
I’ve always been on platforms like Facebook because they allow me to stay in touch with people who I’ve met at different times of my life, some of whom live thousands of miles away in other countries. I like having a community of friends from around the world and this gives me an easy (and lazy, let’s be honest) way to stay in touch with them all.
That’s the upside. I don’t have to remember phone numbers, store email addresses or keep track of physical postal addresses. Everyone is there, at the end of a message if I want to get in touch with them.
The downside is that you can easily get caught up comparing yourself to other people and looking at their lives thinking, ‘why don’t I have all that?’. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of time you can waste on there.
Anyway, while I understand that some people have problems with social media, the point of this blog wasn’t actually to debate the pros and cons of these platforms - it was to talk about how important the little things are in our lives, and how recognising those will make you happier (or that’s the conclusion I’ve come to).
I feel like I’ve got a lot better at just being happy in my everyday life in the past few years by taking the time to appreciate the little things. When I’m out walking with my dog I’ll notice birds hiding in trees, or I’ll stop to enjoy a beautiful view, listen to the waves on the shore, or even to watch bees buzzing around flowers. Beauty really is all around us, you just have to take the time to stop and look for it.
There are a few things in my life that I think have helped me cultivate that attitude and led me to where I am. The first is scuba diving. I learned to dive while I was at university and I’ve since done hundreds of dives. But having learned in the UK, there were very rarely exciting large creatures to look out for - everything is small, and for the most part pretty well hidden or camouflaged.
That was when I really started to look closely at the world around me - it started underwater but I’ve since noticed I do it when I’m on dry land too. With diving, it’s got to the point that almost all my favourite creatures are what’s termed macro life - basically tiny.
I was recently lucky enough to go and dive in a place called Lembeh Strait in Indonesia - one of the meccas of macro diving. I saw so many cool little creatures in my time there - it was incredible. I’ve shared a few of them at the end of this post.
 |
| A pygmy seahorse. It was about the size of my little finger nail. |
The other thing that’s helped me appreciate the small things in life is yoga. Through my yoga practise I’ve been able to focus on being present in a moment. Again, it’s something that started on my mat, especially as I tackled challenging poses (or even just a flow of what you’d think are basic poses until you put them all together), but that’s spread into other areas of my life.
I’ve also realised the importance of being grateful for everything I have, and not just in the physical sense of possessions, a roof over my head and so on. I mean in the sense that I have a body I can bend, stretch and move; I have incredible opportunities in my life to travel; through my choices with work I have amazing freedom over how I spend my time; and I have amazing friends and family who have been supportive and who I also have a lot of fun with.
One of my yoga teachers in particular often talks about gratitude and it’s been a wonderful reminder of what’s important in life, and of just how much I have.
When I think about my life I feel so lucky to be where I am. I’m aware that I’ve worked hard in certain areas and that I’ve made particular choices, but that’s only part of the story. I’m lucky to have been born in a country where women are able to work and live independent lives; to have had incredibly supportive parents; to have a British passport that allows me to travel really easily.
All of these things are nothing more than luck, and I’m grateful that I got these gifts every single day.
I’m not saying that I’m always happy with my life - I have days where I don’t feel good about myself or what’s going on just like everyone else - but I do think it’s easier to get through down patches when you can focus on the positives, however small they may seem.
For me, learning to love the small things has been really important in helping me be happy. So I invite you to take a moment today to notice something small and beautiful in your life, something that you’re grateful to have seen, experienced or just to have in your life. I bet it makes you smile.
And if not, hopefully at least one of these little things that I was lucky enough to encounter on my dives will make you smile.
 |
| A baby flamboyant cuttlefish hiding among the remaining cuttlefish eggs |
 |
| A baby frogfish |
 |
| A creamy chromidoris nudibranch (sea slug) |
 |
| Another nudibranch, this time a desirable flabellina |
