Think Small…

I decided to grab an earlier flight home.  I would take the 5:20 rather than the 6:05.  Save 45 minutes.  Every minute counts right?  I raced to the airport.  I took a chance to fly stand-by.  Victory…a seat assignment without the surcharge.  Everything lining up nicely.  I rushed (RUSHED) through check-in and security (if that is even possible to do today.)  I ran to the gate.  I arrived disheveled, sweating…but I made it!  Just in time.  I walked down the jet bridge still catching my breath.  I looked down at my boarding pass.  Of course…a middle seat assignment.  That will teach you Mr. Hurry-To-Shave-A-Few-Minutes.  I double-checked my boarding pass.  No mistaking it.  Also no mistaking the two fellow passengers on the window and aisle seat.  I stored my bag in the overhead bin.  And prepared to settle in.  I buckled in.  I hit the seat recline button to get a few precious extra inches before take-off.  OF COURSE.  The seat doesn’t recline.  The lady next to me (aisle seat) must have sensed my exasperation and asked:  “Would you like to change seats with me?”  “No, I couldn’t do that…but thank you very much.  That was kind of you to offer.”  At that second, “THINK SMALL” came across my mind.

What an unnecessary but generous act by the kind lady next to me.

How lucky I was to catch an earlier flight home so I can spend a few additional minutes with my family before bed.

What a miracle it is for this 200,000 pound airliner to be in the air.  After almost 1,000,000+ air miles, I am still in awe.  A miracle.

I feel good today.  In good health.

I reflected on my earlier meetings today. I have the good fortune of working with a great team.  Incredibly talented and hardworking.

The stewardess…friendly…walked by offering refreshments.  The water was clean and cool.

And like a ball of string unravelling…thinking small….my state of mind moved to a place of calm and peace.

Think Small.  Enjoy Life.  ENJOY THE Little things…

The source of my learnings….

30 Lessons For Living: Tried and True Advice From the Wisest Americans by Karl Pillemer

The Fourth Lesson: Think Small

“…when people seek happiness, they often think about big-ticket items: buying a house, finding a partner, having a child, getting a new job, making more money…this attitude is a mistake.  The lure of being happy if only something in the future happens is, in their experience, a trap, and one that some of them realized only when their lives were nearly spent.  It makes sense, then, to ask: What concretely can we do to avoid this pitfall?  What’s the alternative to either dwelling on problems and deficiencies in our daily lives or orienting ourselves so much toward the future that we ignore the present?

According to the experts, the solution to this problem is to heighten our enjoyment of daily life, even as we wait for our lives to change.  Many of them used the image of “savoring” life’s pleasures, moment by moment, as one would a delicious meal.  Younger people, from the elders’ vantage point, are oriented toward major achievements as they seek happiness.  They are often obsessed with future plans and involved in such a hectic lifestyle that they cannot attend to the joyful aspects of the present moment.

Because of their limited time horizon, the experts have become attuned to the minute pleasures that younger people often are only aware of if they have been deprived of them: a morning cup of coffee, a warm bed on a winter night, a brightly colored bird feeding on the lawn, an unexpected letter from a friend, even a favorite song on the radio.

ENJOY LIFE.  ENJOY THE little things.”

Image: Thank you phyllisjohnson.com