Celebrate the Little Things by Grant Leishman Regular readers of this magazine will know that in my last article I focused on life in the pandemic and more specifically in lockdown. I want to somewhat continue that theme in this piece. Most of all, what I want to impart to readers is the absolute necessity at this time of embracing the here and now – the reality — and celebrating the little things in your life.
You may remember I was describing how my wife Thess had rediscovered her joy of gardening over the time of this lockdown. Now, for me, dirt is dirt – I don’t want to touch it, I don’t want to mess with it and I certainly don’t have any desire to scrabble around in it planting various types of flowering or vegetable plants. It simply doesn’t ring my bells and whistles – it doesn’t make my heart sing, so to speak. However, this is definitely a case of “Vive La Différence” when it comes to Thess. Nothing, it seems makes her happier than pottering (literally) around her beloved tiny piece of ground which is liberally scattered with pots of every variety, shape, colour and form. She is incredibly inventive when it comes to discovering new receptacles for her beloved seedlings. No longer do we throw “cuppa noodle” cups out. “They’ll make perfect pots for my little plants,” she says. Cut off plastic bottles, old drink dispensers, troughs, half coconut shells have all been pressed into service to hold her evergrowing plant varieties. It makes me immensely happy to see her out there, the sun on her back, talking softly to her babies (when she thinks I’m not looking, of course).
I remember reading recently that a thunderstorm is neither good nor bad, it’s just a thunderstorm. Similarly, a relationship or a job is neither good nor bad, it’s just a relationship or a job. It is how we react, how we feel about everything that happens around us that makes it good or bad – for US. What I want to focus on today is the idea that if we celebrate the little things in life, our attitude changes to some of the bigger things.
God forbid if you happen to be a predator – she is out there at all hours, torch in hand, looking for those pesky slugs and snails that might munch on her precious leaves. Which brings me right back to the point of this article – GRATITUDE. Yes, we are going through a real test of our mettle right now; 2020 did not turn out in any way like we might have hoped or planned for. I would lay odds that anyone in a job interview in 2015 who was asked; “where do you see yourself in five-year’s-time,” would definitely have got the answer wrong. Despite my abhorrence of gardening as a hobby, I am big enough to allow myself to revel in Thess’ successes no matter how small they are at this time. Recently she told me one of her plants was -7-
