I have a bad habit of taking quotes like this and picking it apart, agreeing or disagreeing. I guess it’s the conversations you have with yourself, invisible arguments with no one, LOL! While I do agree one must be comfortable with the details of their life before being happy, I also think that one has to feel spiritually connected as well, and satisfied that one is meeting our Father’s goals and doing His will. Scriptures indicate joy and peace as a fruit of the Spirit. Even with the mess going on everywhere in the world, it’s comforting to know that we can still maintain a level of joy and peace. The devil tries to overcome us and keep us with fear and anxiety to keep us stirred. Only God can bring a level of protection over man, our fear, and layer on the fruits of his spirits. And nothing can keep us from our God, not even death.
Staging Contentment
That said above, I work hard to have little things – little daily details in life that bring me joy – at work, at home, and even in the car. At work the things that I stage to bring me joy are:
- Food – having what I need right there, and having options, including snacks, healthy options, and maybe chocolate 🙂
- Drinks – again having options – water, tea, coffee, and my greens and fruits
- Gum, mints
- Sayings, reminders, my daily calendar
- Plants – even if they are fake
- Family pictures around me
- Ability to play music if I need – requiring ear buds
- My daily calendar that brings encouragement
- A nice computer setting background and theme – changes weekly lol
- A working computer, functionality of the office equipment, back up office supplies so no running out
- Working out of the way and beyond to avoid surprises but they still happen anyway, lol.
- My window – which I’m having to close the blinds as it’s 80 degrees if I don’t
At home, hmmmm, that is so broad it’s hard to narrow down the details that bring contentment as so much does. But we are talking about staging your details to bring contentment. We do it without thinking about the fact that we are doing so.
- Coffee – having coffee available makes me happy
- Setting a routine makes me comfortable and happy
- Having lots of food options in the freezer and pantry
- Having control over the calendar and my time
- Being able to schedule some down time and protect it like a fragile bird – lol.
- Organization and function in the home
- Decor and aesthetics
- Greenery in each room lifts the mood – even if it’s a fake plant that doesn’t look fake
- Positive sayings or Nic Naks that bring joy when you look at them
- Family pictures
- Loving Pets and Pets to Love
- Favorite quilts in bedrooms and sitting rooms
- Functional Washer and Dryer and other appliances
- Easy to access items
- No clutter
- A To Do List – I’ll never be bored EVER!
- Lots of drink options here too, including iced tea, wine, beer, mixed drinks if I want, after dinner drink – no not all at once. One a day – maybe two if dinner is late. It’s five o’clock somewhere and then it’s six o’clock! lol
In the car:
- Car phone plug/cord, phone holder, gum, hand sanitizer, cup holder, drink, Alexa to go, audible, sunglasses – the obvious!
How detailed do we want to go here? I could go on at how I stage things to bring me joy through the day. The joy of everyday living! A comfortable bed, Vicks Vaporub at bedside for stuffy nose, sleep spray for a sleepless night – the staging is endless. Our every need met. We are rich in so many ways and spoil ourselves. So little in detail but yet aids in the contentment and comforts of our being.
Three shampoos in the bathroom – always – one a herbal essence, one a Suave Rosemary mint, the other is allowed to change to try new ones. These little things bring me joy. ;-). Certain types of cleaning supplies one gets used to that bring glee when you smell it or when it works. These little things bring happiness. Clean bed linens and towels and clean underwear. Blessing the nest! Ok I’ll stop!
Other than that I really don’t have much for you in two days time. So I simply chat about “staging your happy”. Hey it works for me. I hope it works for you!
Good Food, Good Times, Good Joy
We get GREAT JOY out of our menu planning board. Much conversation goes around it. I fixed spaghetti Wednesday night. Mainly wanted to give George a break as he worked in the yard this week, as we had a really rainy period from days last week making it hard to keep things under control.
Salad I fixed on spaghetti night with some fresh greens, celery, carrots, cheese, and splurging with garlic and onion croutons.
I even made garlic, cheese bread. I used up some hot dog buns as Mom and George like their white bread. I used a whole grain muffin for mine. Still bad with the butter and cheese. Mom likes bread almost every meal. I would be as big as a barn. I cannot do that.
You know what though? I’m craving bacon! Might have to fix some Sunday. I think we are having to lay low b/c of the rampant “illness” in our community. So maybe Sunday morning we will have time.
I had dinner with a friend at Memo’s in Mount Juliet last night. She got fajitas and they looked great. I got the 3 enchilada meal and although good, left kinda hungry. Three small folder over tacos of a sort, not much meat, not much of anything really – not even beans and rice. I could have added them (beans and rice) separately for $3 each. Was just not enough for an $11 plate of food. Quite pitiful. Not enough to compete with the restaurants around. Sadly, I’ll likely not be back there. Just didn’t meet the expectations. Taste was not anything special either. The others are better. I didn’t want it to be that way, but it just is. I could have easily made this at home. I had to eat more chips and salsa to fill up. Oh well. But I did enjoy the conversation with my friend Christie. We caught up a bit. Two hours worth of chatting.
Meanwhile in Texas
Someone else got to try spaghetti today -he was not sure at first but liked it! Once he got it in his mouth. lol
Keep your chin up out there. You have the power to make life how you want it – if only in the little details! Sometimes we can’t control the big things like we want, but we can control the little things and little details to make our days better. I’m sure I missed a LOT above – just the few things I thought of while sipping my morning nectar (coffee). We really are blessed in so many ways aren’t we?
What details of your day bring you joy? How do you stage YOUR day for contentment?
It makes my day when I hear from you…