We all need to appreciate the small things in life...like small steps being taken to reach larger goals, or a penny on the sidewalk. I know my four days of exercise are not really impressive to many, but I am pleased with them. I have begun my shift, and haven't stumbled...yet. In the meantime, I will continue to smile at small accomplishments...like my daily mile.
In her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard speaks about simplicity in life, and finding pleasure and wonder in the small, unexpected corners of life. She tells of hiding pennies when she was a child, just to see if anyone would stop to pick them up. Her childhood imagination presumed that all who picked up the "lost" pennies would be stumbling upon a windfall treasure, a golden fortune. She then comments on those who did not take the opportunity to pick up the pennies, "It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnurished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. What you see is what you get."
My penny today? - - a continuation of my quest for a healthier me.
What is your metaphorical penny?
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