The Simplest Things are the Most Meaningful

23 Apr The Simplest Things are the Most Meaningful

This year I have chosen the word peace to be a focus. We all do our best to balance our lives, but I don’t think we will achieve balance. With responsibilities and the daily grind of life, we do our best each day. Peace to me is finding that inner calm. It doesn’t mean life is or will be easy.

Some of the simple things that are meaningful to me are: coffee, watching a favorite tv show, creating, writing, a thoughtful text from a friend, our boys laughter and rainy days.

This week I wasn’t feeling well and one night our oldest son sat next to me and put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Mom it’s okay. I am here.” A simple sentence with care and a loving hand brought peace. It didn’t make me feel 100% better, but I had an inner calm that brought a level of peace.

One of my favorite things each day is getting the mail. A simple task, but meaningful due to memories of getting the mail as a child. Most of the time, it’s bills and advertisements that arrive. At other times, it’s a catalog or a package. My memories of getting the mail go back to when I would be at my grandma’s house. She lived in a beautiful brick two-story home and had a mail slot in her front door. Sometimes as I would be watching tv or playing, I would hear the slot open and the mail would drop to the floor. At times, I would get startled as I saw the mailman’s hand through the slot. I would run over, get her mail and look through the catalogs or ads. It was something simple, yet meaningful to do that simple task. Everyday, I drive up our road and reach into our mailbox to get the mail. This week, there were some cards from friends with greetings that brought happiness through a simple act of kindness. Nowadays, with technology the art of writing our thoughts or greetings seems lost.

One way I have found peace is through creating. The past few years, I have been exploring decorating, painting, sewing and a variety of other creative interests. There is something when you find peace through an outlet that also brings joy. When I first started writing, the purpose was to bring encouragement. Recently, I have been trying to refine my writing. I want to continue to use writing as encouragement and share about other creative friends while incorporating creativity.

When trying something new, it takes encouragement to start the simple tasks of a new goal. A few months back I joined a community of writers called HopeWriters. HopeWriters work together to support one another in our writing pursuits. It is an interactive on-line group that bridges the simple tasks in writing. When I came across HopeWriters, I viewed it as a sign to pursue. After losing our son Hope, I started to write as part of the healing journey, but also to bring encouragement to others.

How do you create peace? Are there simple things that bring meaning to your life? May we all look for and treasure the simple things that offer peace to us.