In life, we sometimes forget to appreciate the small happy things that occur. We become so consumed with the grind of daily living that we often forget to stop and smell the roses. Among many many happy moments last weekend, I also found several small happy moments. Yesterday, I was in the mountains walking in the snow…..well, actually I was snowshoeing. As an aside, if you’ve never been snowshoeing, I recommend it! I would say I was at roughly 8500 feet or so while walking through the most beautiful winter backdrop. At some point, I stopped, likely due to the tremendously steep incline I was traversing……ok, maybe that was an exaggeration!;) While stopped, I heard two birds, serenading us with their playful song. Two things struck me in that moment. First, I’m not sure why, but hearing birds seemed strange in the middle of winter at 8500 feet. Secondly, the beauty of their singing amidst the incredibly peaceful landscape brought a smile to my face. A small happy in that beautifully shared moment. Something so simple, and natural. The small happy of being a couple of hours from home, pausing the intensity of life that sometimes weighs so heavy on us. It’s incredible how taking a breath to simply be thankful for the privilege of time is able to transform a moment. In that brief moment, we cast away our worries and anxiety to simply enjoy the small happy before us. I was reminded that it really doesn’t take much to quiet my mind or to bring a smile to my face. I watched little kids cruising down the mountain with no care in the world, and it just brought such joy to me to see the joy on their faces. Ah, to be that young again. Sounds so cliche, but it really reminds me that the little things in life are what matter. Too often, we get caught up in the pressure of life and lose our smiles. Stress, anxiety, fear and worry consumes us, causing the fade of happiness. I am generally a smiling kind of woman……usually. I really do find joy in the littlest things. Coke Zero……sitting in a hot tub….a blue sky amidst the beautiful Rocky Mountains….a sweet text….a random call….a bird chirping….the pink and blue hue of the sky at sunset…. a dog wagging their tail at me….giving a gift….offering a helping hand, and someone accepting….feelings shared….time shared…..Well, time shared may not seem like a little thing. After all, time is both our greatest gift and our strongest adversary. We are always racing against time, seemingly never able to win. With work, with family, with friends, with school….time is the competitor in the story of life. There is never enough of it, causing us to lose sight of the small happy that may come out of a simple moment. Instead, we finish one thing and it’s onward to the next. But, what really are we racing against? We wait to enjoy things in life, or grab hold of opportunity, or commit because we are holding onto the big thing that’s going to come…..more money, more stability, less difficulty, better health….you name it. Time is an unknown entity of unknown quantity. Without warning, it simply ends. What’s harder is knowing that the ending is never the same for any two people. Because of this, we are to make the most of what we have each day, finding the joy in the small happy. Imagine a boatload of small happy moments that create the extraordinary. The gift of time doesn’t wait for anyone. The clock ticks while you are waiting to take that chance, to go all in. If we are always waiting for the next big thing, or for the pieces to all come together perfectly, we may very well run out of time. Enjoy the small happy when you have it. Those small happy moments are truly the cumulative extraordinary for which we’ve all been waiting.