Day 4: I am thankful for small pleasures.

This post is part of “30 days of Giving Thanks” To read more within this series, click here.

“You can never find a cup of tea large enough nor a book long enough to suit me.”

~ C.S. Lewis

On the surface, the above quote almost sounds like insatiable greed, but what I think he meant was, “I love books and I love tea!”

In the United States, we are drenched in luxuries. We have well-insulated homes, small and large appliances, comfortable slippers, soft beds, abundant food, regular entertainment and ready access to supplies. All these things we take for granted and sometimes get a tad miffed when they aren’t readily available. I have observed veterans fresh from the front lines get rather disgusted with people’s obsession over stupid things like long lines or the lack of soy for their latte. These soldiers have gained perspective. Valuable, unique perspective.

Small pleasures are not necessities. Too often we view our large and small blessings as an entitlement. Let’s not fall into that trap! We start by being thankful—especially for the little things.

Here is my short list (in no particular order):

• a great fiction novel
• a cup of warm chamomile lavender tea with honey before bed
• soft ugg slippers on a chilly morning
• the smell of fresh coffee
• a freshly printed book
• beautiful graphic designs
• Adobe Illustrator
• sand in my toes at the beach
• the smell of sea air
• the early fall
• red starbucks cups during the holidays
• iced chai in the summer
• the laughter of babies and small children
• being completely surrounded by music
• driving a manual transmission
• driving an automatic transmission
• the view from a mountain top
• kayaking
• sunsets
• writing my thoughts on fresh paper
• the smell of the desert when it rains
• a frothy cup of chai
• doodling
• the smell of a newborn baby
• stimulating conversations
• the smile of an old friend
• the beautiful sound of a clarinet solo
• watching my daughter play violin
• snuggling up to read a good book with my kids
• holding my kid’s hands to cross the road
• fresh water
• singing
• christmas lights
• warm summer nights

I am so thankful that God has allowed me to enjoy these things. Some, of course, have greater value thank others (and I am sure they will overlap with other topics over the next several days).

What small delights has God given you? Take a few minutes today and make a list. On days when the world seems gloomy and at it’s worst, take time to thank God for the little things. There are so many who live without even their basic needs like food and clean water.

Let’s be grateful for what we have instead of grumbling about what we lack.