Monday 5 December 2016

Sun is shining down

I sometimes play this song in the car as I like to sing along with it, and I've never really understood what I'm singing (as I've never really paid attention to the lyrics), but driving home I suddenly noticed one of the phrases: about it being the little things that make life worth living, not the expectations.


Isn't it funny how succinct the essence of life can be summed up? I have so many words jumbled in my head and so many ideas and I rarely get the time to pour them out in any methodical or useful manner, and in a brief line someone else can state the truth you're looking for.

In  Alain De Botton's The New: A user's manual, he talks of our focus on the news as a way to avoid introspective reflection. He also talks about how your reliance on the news varies, depending on if you see time as an arrow or a wheel. This stopped me in my tracks, as I have always seen time in a linear fashion, stretching out before me and it never occurred to me there was any other way to view it. However, if you see it as a wheel, the difficulties you face at any given time seem easier to handle as you are really only dealing with the immediate problems and joys, as the wheel turns and the next phase begins. It makes the little personal things take on a greater importance to your daily life, and the general news has less impact on your daily life.

I guess no matter what struggles we face, we need to remember the ultimate truth in that saying, from 1200 AD, that 'This too, shall pass." and just focus on those little things that make us happy, no matter how small and inconsequential they may be.

I for one, am trying to change my world view, to reinvent the wheel.

Linking up this old post because I've been thinking about what I don't like in the world at the moment, instead of what I do...#MLSTL


27 comments:

  1. Look at you being all philosophical and self aware! Love it. I look forward to more x o

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  2. Very deep for a pre coffee read but I like this perspective very much. Reinvent the wheel, indeed!

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  3. I've never thought of time as a wheel, but it's good advice and makes the challenges we face seem a little more manageable. Great song!

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  4. I'm with you! After a difficult couple of weeks, I'm all about the wheel, or to use another traffic analogy, it's just a bump in the road. As for those lovely little things, they're the ones to treasure because at the end of the day, it's the little things that make life big!

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  5. It's so hard to remember that things will pass when you're right in the midst of them!

    Ingrid
    http://www.fabulousandfulife.blogspot.com.au

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  6. I like the saying... How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.... which I think is kinda similar. It's reminding us that those little things and little moments make us who we are and what we become.

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  7. Oooh, I like this. A lot. Looking at time as a wheel. Yes.

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  8. I've always viewed time as a wheel, sometimes we are at the top of the wheel, other times we are at the bottom, but the only way from there is up! I've noticed this in my life from a young age, sometimes the wheel takes a short time to turn, other times it takes longer, but I always come through the bad times and into better ones and it's that knowledge that keeps me pushing up from the bottom of the wheel xx

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  9. I discovered Alain de Botton ages ago and I will always remember listening to him when out walking and he talked of the philosophers and how nothing in life now is new..it's all part of our human existence. I love his words and how he helps us view the world. Denyse

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  10. An interesting thought. #KCACOLS

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  11. That's a great way of looking at things! I've never really heard of the time wheel concept before, but it's worth thinking about! #OpenSlather

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  12. i need to remember to appreciate the little things and not dwell on expectation too much. Let things happen and move with it, than stress about it. The rough times do pass. The most important thing for me at this time is to take some time out and look after me.

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  13. I have never thought about it this way, but it kind of make sense somehow. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday.

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  14. I love discovering new ways of thinking. This makes sense to me! #KCACOLS

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  15. It's all about the little things when you have a baby... it dawned on me after a few months that the little things could actually replace the bigger, more adventurous, moments of the past. I was much happier when I accepted this! #kcacols

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  16. It's all about the little things when you have a baby... it dawned on me after a few months that the little things could actually replace the bigger, more adventurous, moments of the past. I was much happier when I accepted this! #kcacols

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  17. Ooh. You are opening a can of worms in my mind. Yes. All the OUTRAGE we see: is it because it's easier to look at what's wrong with the wider world and criticise it than to look within? #teamIBOT

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  18. I definitely live by the motto 'this too shall pass', it's got me through a lot of long nights with restless babies! x #KCACOLS

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  19. I keep saying "this too shall pass" because it reminds me that we will get through this. It's not an easy time at all!

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  20. The news is full of darkness but hope is there too. Day will follow night and the sun will shine for us all again. Thanks for linking up with #stayclassymama

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  21. Thanks for sharing at #MLSTL. This applies to what's going on right now...a timeless piece and what a good way to visualize time as a wheel.

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  22. Little things that make us happy add up and sustain us. #MLSTL

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  23. I love this concept of the wheel, Lydia because that is how life is, isn't it? Change is the only constant we have and we do move through good and bad times in life. Thanks for sharing at #MLSTL and take care. x

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  24. Hi Lydia, I had a Wheel of Time moment and had to go look up the quote about the wheel of time turning. I also try to remember that life is part of eternity and our time here on earth is just a snippet - it helps put those little horrible times into perspective.
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I've shared on my SM 😊

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  25. I needed that little reminder - I too have been dwelling on what I don't like and turning my face away from it. Change is the only constant & we get change from reaching tipping points of discomfort.

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  26. I love this Lydia. It's important to remember that what we are going through is just a moment in time. My sister sent me a wonderful story about a man who had lived through polio, diphtheria, Vietnam protests, and now COVID-19. He said he had long ago learned not to see the world through printed headlines, but through the people that surrounded him. He wrote his own headlines, like "Husband Loves Wife Today" and "Old Man Makes New Friend." What a lovely way to see the world.

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  27. One of my favourite sayings is 'this too shall pass' and it is so perfect for these days! #mlstl

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