This morning, I headed out to run a short errand and was passing the gas station when I decided, no, I’ll keep going and fill up the gas tank on my way back home.
About 25 minutes later, I was headed home. I put on my blinker to ease into the gas station when I noticed the big, neon sign with the price per gallon on it – in the 25 minutes since I had last seen it, the price had gone down by $0.18/gallon!
I felt like I had won the lottery! What was I going to do with my new-found riches? Buy a summer home? Quit my job and retire early? Try one of those new not-meat sausage sandwiches from Dunkin’ Donuts?
In the end, I did none of those things. I just happily swiped my credit card, filled the tank and then headed out to finish up my errands and head back home. But it had made a difference in my day. Who knew that happiness could be bought for approximately $2.64?
It just goes to show that when we’re open to it, joy and beauty can be found everywhere. When I took Belle out for a walk in the morning, the not-quite-full moon was still visible in the bright blue sky. I admit, I gawked a little bit.
And then during a later afternoon walk, I sighed watching the sun putting on a show as it started to dip below the horizon.
Life can be hard. Bad things happen to good people. We’re all dealing with grief or trauma or something. But even during the worst of times, there are pockets of joy to be found if you’re looking for it.