Savor the Little Things

By Leo Babauta

Do you eat while reading? If so, you might have noticed the phenomenon I’ve noticed: sometimes you can eat an entire meal without even really tasting the food. This applies to a lot of things in our lives: we can spend an hour with our family without really talking to them. We can go to a park or the beach, and not really notice the things around us.

Here’s a tip that seems so simple, and yet can be difficult to maintain in practice: stop, and notice what you are doing in this moment. Become more aware of the present, instead of always thinking about the past and the future.

This is hard to do throughout the course of a day, but being perfect isn’t the point. Stop and do it once in awhile, at different times of the day, and just notice the little things. And enjoy them.

Try these little exercises (they’re very easy, so don’t be scared by the word “exercise”):

You can probably think of other things, but these are just a few ideas. And if you really experience these things, they can be incredible. And life won’t pass you by as quickly as it normally does, which can be a good thing.

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