I recently found the following picture and it inspired me!
A little Sunflower, lifts its bright, smiling head in the midst of, not only a busy city expressway, but also in the middle of a gutter—a little joy–and a joyful sight to me. It is a song, a sermon, a solitary witness to life’s resilience.
Sam Cooke sang in a soft and scintillating voice—The things that I see as I walk along the streets — a little flower that blooms in May, a lovely sunset at the end of a day, someone helping a stranger along the way — that’s heaven to me.
We often say in a rather off-handed way, “Take time to smell the roses.” But do we do that? The noise of life too easily drowns out little joys of living. The smell of coffee brewing, bacon cooking in early dawn, sending its savory scents gliding through the early morning— we tend to notice these because of their arresting aromas. How about pausing to see the palette of color outside, or along a trail (well, sidewalk, too)? It is easy to gawk at splendid colors of Fall yet miss their vibrant joy; colors splash before our unseeing eyes all year long, may be mostly missed while we’re looking for something else.
Little joys bring big benefits. My favorite illustration is that of watching children at Christmas opening gift boxes—only to play more with the boxes than with the toys they held. Imagination blossoms from little joys—vastly different from the overloaded checklists, cramped schedules, or traffic— absorbed by interest in a box, a ball, a stone, or a stick; the contrast is dramatic.
I ran across an insight from Julia Travers, a writer, artist and teacher. —Joy is an ephemeral spark and guidepost found in simple and surprising places. Many kinds of small exchanges and little things can make us feel free, lifted, and joyful. A surge of bright joy might fill our hearts when we hear a favorite song, catch a glimpse of a firefly’s ethereal glow, taste delicious food, or laugh with a loved one. Noticing and experiencing joy in our daily lives is an enlivening, fun, and illuminating practice. Some say individual moments of joy are actually the essence of the abiding happiness we seek.
I notice that Jesus found little joys in the midst of his busy life. While struggling to teach dull ears of his followers, he noticed a Fig tree. A Fig tree! —an excellent illustration of his point. As busy—and maybe as frustrated he must have been with distracted disciples—Jesus paid attention to something as common as a fig tree.
In another ancient venue, where Jesus brought joy to people; when some parents brought their little ones for Jesus to bless, adults in the group objected. They didn’t want children interfering in Jesus’ teaching. But Jesus valued all people—no matter their age. He knew those children mattered—not just to their parents. I can imagine how joyful those parents were that Jesus turned aside. took time, and focused on these children.
I still think of that bright (and I think) joyful little Sunflower glistening in the gutter along a busy freeway! Even if it was’t happy, think of the joy it broought to all those people who did see it!
© Copyright Willis H. Moore 2023
Amen and Amen!
That little sunflower made me smile and brought me joy! I am going to try, especially this coming week, to pay attention to the little, everyday details. Often overlooked in our “busyness,” these are what keeps us going. They give us hope in a world that often seems hopeless.
Thank you, as always, for keeping your readers focused on what really matters.
I get joy on facebook watching the fluffy little puppies bounce along together and the beautiful owls and the pictures of the old dirt roads in Georgia and the new born colts with their mamas.
Willis,
One of my joys, in our travels, is to take photos of those bright little flowers struggling to grow from the cracks in a roadbed, in a patch of non-related thorny dried plants, & even in a pile of rocks!!!