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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

I try to get out of the office every day. There are many days where I walk into the building and don’t step foot outside until I’m on my way home. This means I don’t give myself the opportunity to enjoy any of the sun or fresh air that haunts me from the other side of the window.

I understand that it’s all me. I don’t have a boss forcing me to stay inside. In fact it would be fairly easy to create a little outside workspace. I could utilize my laptop or conduct one of my many zoom meetings from the comfort of the picnic table on our patio.

Except for a small, eenie weinie, tiny problem … well many tiny problems. The bugs!

In particular, the little black dots that you wouldn’t even notice until they bite you. I tried to have a meeting outside earlier this week. As we were walking around the property, life was good.

However, within minutes of sitting down, the attack began.

Usually right around February I dream about moving someplace warm. Then I’m reminded that with that temperature exchange also comes a change of bugs. I’ll stay frozen, thank you very much.

That’s the way life is though. Nothing is ever completely perfect.

Occasionally I’ll have these moments of awe. I’ll be watching a movie with my family and we’re all laughing and then it hits me. I’m so overcome with joy and gratitude for how wonderful my life is. If I were to zoom out on that perfect moment, you’d also see clothes that needed to be put away, a rug in need of a good vacuum and a whole slew of other things that needed to be fixed.

When I experience these perfect moments, I try to pause and take a mental picture. I’ve trained myself to recognize these little glimmers and often I will call them out. I want those around me, that are also experiencing it, to see this moment for what it truly is. A blessing.

I understand they are fleeting. I know that soon I’ll be hurried away from this Instagram worthy moment and back in the thick of normal life. I know that if I wanted to, I could find 20 problems or things that are still going wrong. But I don’t want to.

The world is constantly pointing to the negatives and telling us how we are falling short. I don’t need to add to that noise. I want my voice to be used for good. I want to remind myself and those around me just how good we have it.

There are little nasty bugs outside. No amount of optimism or positive thinking is going to change that. However, instead of staying trapped inside, fixated on all the things going wrong, I can shift my focus to what is going right. The sun is shining and the temperature is perfect to enjoy a walk outside. So I’ll put on a long sleeve shirt, go for a walk and choose to look for the glimmers.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.