Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything. – Norman Lear

I absolutely adore this quote.  What it’s telling me is to take it as it comes.  The good and the bad.  Celebrate all the little things that happen.  Find joy in them and celebrate them.  A sunset, a kind word, even something as inconsequential as making all the lights on your way home from work.  Those are all things to celebrate and find joy in.

So if I’m saying celebrate the little things, am I saying celebrate the bad, or worse, flip out over all the little bad things that happen?  Nope, not at all.  A lot of people I know make it a point of ignoring all the little bad things that can happen.  Things like not making all the lights on the way home, or having a crappy day at work.  Ignoring them is a strategy, but I prefer to acknowledge that they happen and then move on. If you get in the habit of acknowledging and moving on, it makes them easier to deal with.  That way, if something bigger that’s not great happens, you’re more equipped to deal, acknowledge and move on rather than let it overwhelm you.  You know, take it as it comes.

There are so many good things that happen in our lives, but they’re not huge.  As always, don’t get me wrong, I would adore winning the lottery.  I haven’t yet, and that’s okay.  I haven’t let not winning stop me from enjoying all the other good things that are in my life. To me, this is truly one of those big life lessons.  Take it as it comes.  Take the good and celebrate it, take the bad, acknowledge it and then move on.