Appreciating the Little Things in Life: A Gratitude Miniseries

In an effort to curb my anxieties about the current pandemic situation, I’ve been spending my free time brainstorming blog content and writing posts to share with you guys. I’m still working my professional job 40+ hours per week (from home), but seeing how everything is cancelled and stay at home orders are in place, life has slowed down quite a bit, leaving me with more hours in the day to focus on my creative hobbies. Although I miss a lot about normal life, I’m learning more and more to appreciate the little things right now.

The reality is this: My situation is much better than that of many. With so much uncertainty fueling this health and economic crisis, people are losing their lives, their jobs, their wellbeing, and more, yielding a much bigger financial crisis that will have lasting impacts for years to come. Right now in this moment, I’m feeling grateful to have a job, good health, and safety in my home with Alex and the boys. But I’d be lying if I said that all of this doesn’t scare the crap out of me.

I know I talk a lot about happiness and positivity on my blog and Instagram, and sometimes it may seem redundant to those of you on the outside looking in, but ultimately I do it because happy and positive topics genuinely make me feel good. In these trying times, I find myself needing every little boost of positivity that I can get, and I’m sure a lot of you can agree with that too.

As I’ve been adapting to the life changes brought forth by the COVID-19 crisis, I wanted to start a gratitude miniseries to remind myself that there are so many little things to be thankful for and appreciative of, even in the hardest of times. It’s so easy to be selfish and mope about the consequences of such a crisis (after all, we’re all affected by it in some way), but to me that’s wasted energy. There are so many things in life that remain constant through struggle and beyond, so I’m choosing to use what energy I can to find happiness with those things in life that we often find ourselves taking for granted.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to make it my intention to share more of my gratitudes here on Just Jen Things. Though I’m doing it first to help my own emotional and mental health, my final hope is that someone else reads along with me and feels inspired enough to share their own little happiness project as a result. It’s a wonderful world when we’re happy, and an even more wonderful world when we’re happy together.

So, here’s to Day 1 (of many) in my happiness project. I hope you enjoy!

As unfortunate as it is, I’ve been feeling exceedingly overwhelmed lately. In addition, I haven’t really felt relaxed since I’ve started working from home, my nights have been spent a little more restless than usual, and the flip-flopping temperatures and high pollen levels have caused my nose to become a little stuffy. If I’m being 100% honest, I’ve been feeling a lot like a prisoner in my own house, trapped like a bird in a cage.

But today I woke up feeling really grateful for blue skies, sunshine, and Spring vibes. Walking around the yard with my pup this morning, something hit me, instantly making me feel more refreshed than I have in awhile. Could have been thanks to the bright rays of the morning sun, could have been thanks to the warmth of the North Carolina springtime air, could have been thanks to the sound of the birds chirping happy hums, or it could have been a combination of the three mixed with a little bit of gratitude that I’m lucky enough to be alive and well in this moment.

As I finish writing this post, I’m feeling happy that the skies are still blue and beautiful at 7PM. Alex and I are enjoying a little fresh air out on the patio before it gets dark and we’ve got the pup out here as well playing around in the yard beside us. It’s been another long week that we’re choosing to end with a cold one — and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

We’ve also got the JBL speaker outside with us and we’re jamming to SOUTHSIDE, the new album by Sam Hunt. It’s been over five years since he released his amazing debut album Montevello, and I’ve been waiting so patiently for album 2 for so many years, so I guess you could say I’m feeling grateful for new Sam Hunt music today too. (UPDATE: The new album is amazing!)

See, I told you… it’s all about the little things in life. As I get ready to hit publish and head back inside to make dinner, notice how the sun has switched places with the moon. It’s been such a beautiful day here in North Carolina!

What are you grateful for today? Leave a comment below or tag me in your happiness post. I’d love to hear from you!

Enjoy!

JB