Appreciating the Small Things

By Ericka Foster

Right around the time that the quarantine started, I started to wake up and notice silverfish on my living room ceiling. (I’m not going to include a photo them here, because …ew.)

Silverfish are relatively harmless – they don’t scurry and multiply like ants and cockroaches. They don’ t sting or bite like bed bugs or bees. In fact, they kind of sit there, so I have time to get my stepladder and a shoe while it remains in the same place. I’d wake up every morning, study the ceiling on my apartment, and murder it. In the scope of everythi ng, it’s not a big deal.

But…during this quarantine, as my life becomes small, the issue of these silverfish has gotten quite big. Too big. Any of my loved ones who I have video called over the past three to four months has heard about these silverfish. I mean, you’re reading about them now.

Whatever your big or small problems during this quarantine, there are far less distractions of movies, socialization, eating out – FUN – to balance out our problems.

Instead of trying to “forget” about them , try to blow up the good things as big as the annoying things. So, on my morning walk, I obsess over the bunny rabbits. The photo you see is of the actual sky.

It’s not you, it’s biology

Humans have a natural tendency to focus on the negative. That mechanism is d esigned to keep us out of harm’s way. Certainly, i f your health is threatened by COVID- 19, you aren’t sure where your next check is coming from, the injustice is real, your need child care, you need food – it is HARD to get away from problems. You can’t stop thinking about them because they keep coming for you. But isn’t that when it is most important to hold onto good things – even the small things? It becomes an emotional break from the bull.

If you spend 97% of your waking moments focusing on real thing s, why not relish that three percent? Additionally, you might have to go find that three percent.

Be present

There are several intense ways to find gratitude – meditation, volunteering, prayer. If things are already hard, starting a gratitude practice sh ouldn’t be one of them. In the photo, all I had to do get out of my head was look up. All you have to do is pay attention – truly pay attention. Sometimes, it means fully listening to the person who is talking to you – they may be especially funny, or espe cially insightful, or especially loving. A gut- busting belly laugh can turn your day around.

Show yourself some grace

If the voices in your head are becoming louder, they may not always be nice. Gratitude isn’t just abou t belly laughs and blue skies. If you have endured incarceration, let’s say that you are resilient.

I’m grateful that I’m resilient is the reminder that you have what it takes to put your life back together.