Sowing Seeds of Contentment

Sowing Seeds of Contentment

When was the last time you had a wonderful surprise? You might call them miracles, or unexpected delights. The label doesn’t matter, it’s the noticing.

I have had a knack for finding coins, and occasionally bills, on the street. Over the years, I’ve picked up hundreds of dollars in pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. I had a friend who would say that I could spot a black penny at midnight on asphalt, which is quite true, I’ve done that many times.

Each one of those coins was an exercise in allowing wonderful surprises, delights, or miracles into my life.

I’ve also learned some interesting stuff, picking up those coins, and talking about picking them up.

I knew a fellow who cleaned offices. He discovered that a woman in one of the offices he tended threw her pennies in the trash every day. He’d fetch ‘em out, and saved them up. It took a few years, but he ended up using them to get a new music player for his truck. To her they were garbage. Hmm.

Similarly, the man I knew who, if he dropped some coins, would only bother to pick them up if they were silver. Pennies were litter.

I knew a woman who spotted coins all the time, but wouldn’t pick them up because they belonged to someone else.

I also know a man who would get a roll of quarters, and sprinkle them from his pocket as he walked around town, just so people could have the joy of finding a quarter. I so love that. I’ve copied it, and think of those coins as happiness seeds. On the one hand, what can you buy for a quarter, on the other hand, how fun is it to find a quarter! On the third hand, how fun to sow happiness seeds!

When we tune in to life’s little sweetnesses, we find sweetness. When we look for the delights in our day, we find the delights. When we are open to miracles, we notice our miracles. Each day has something in it. The more we pay attention, the nicer our days seem.

At my desk at my Clark Kent job I have a misting fountain. Water drops from an inverted bowl in little musical drips, which most of the time I don’t notice. But lately, I’ve been slowing down enough to hear them. Soothing, and delightful, right there, whenever I want to stop and listen.

Likewise, the little snails at my desk are a constant source of delight.

The more we practice, the more we find, like sitting on my porch in the dead of winter, noticing that most of me is warm as toast, and attending to that, rather than the one part of me that might be chilly.

Choosing to look for the good, seeking it, noticing it, marking it out, and appreciating it, makes us much more adept at recognizing the wonder, the joy, and the miracles we are presented every day.

How have I changed from discounting the amazing to appreciating my miracles every day?

(c) Pam Guthrie all rights reserved 03192013