The last 30 days have been so full of joy, happiness, giggles, good food, making, celebrating, welcoming, snuggling, wishing and dreaming, living and doing, and just being. As I type this, Sasa is in the kitchen making gluten-free graham crackers for the smores to be consumed on our camping adventure tomorrow, the little one is finally sound asleep upstairs after a foot rub, a back rub, and many many books and songs, and I am here reflecting on the last 30 days while battling a nasty flu that has left me so very tired, achy, and woozy and wondering if our camping adventure will really be possible at all.
I spent part of the morning on the back porch with the little one, each of us taking turns with the camera. I take a picture of her, she takes a picture of me. I watch as she carefully juggles my heavy camera between her hands, trying to find the balance. I watch as she presses the shutter with such intention, and I watch as she turns the camera around to show me what she captured. The above picture was something she took this morning. The dark green leaves provide such a contrast to that one red leaf. The leaf that the little one was just so excited about...and she captured it like a pro. We've been talking about the seasons, about autumn, and about what the leaves do. She is just so excited and so full of wonder. And it is so clear that her joy comes from the simple things.
It seemed so fitting to be ending this 30 days just as a new season approaches. A new season that can be full of just as much joy and happiness, beauty, and peace. We are still working everyday to make our life as simple as possible. Because it's when life is simple, that you are able to see the joy and beauty in everything. And life may throw complicated things your way, but it's really how you deal with them that matters. Everything is simple. Everything has a reason. Everything has a purpose. It doesn't matter if we don't like it, or we want to instinctively fight it, or we want to say "why me?"...that's giving yourself permission to live with complications and challenges, where no joy exists. It's only when we view everything with peace and contentment that we really reach that place of joy. Where things melt away and all that is left is the core, the center, and the most important part: life.
The universe doesn't always work in a way that we want it to. It might throw a flu at us during our only vacation of the year. It might be pouring rain on your special day. It might make living so darn hard. But it all happens for a reason and there's no fighting it. And there's something just so peaceful about letting go. There's joy to be found in just that mere act of throwing your hands up to something greater and giving it permission to do what it does, whether you like what it does or not.
And by doing that, it's so much easier to live a simple life full of joy and happiness and peace. It's an ongoing process to find that place, and keeping it can be even more challenging. But at the end of the day, when we're getting ready for bed and snuggling up together reading our favorite books, I like to remember that no matter what happened, it all happened exactly the way it was meant to. And that brings a smile to my face. And I find joy in our togetherness, our simplicity, and our way of living. We live a life with intention and purpose. And we enjoy every bit of it. I couldn't ask for more.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. And thank to all who participated. I hope you found joy and peace and happiness too. Happy autumn to you all! Hopefully I will return with a report on our camping adventure!
