The Great Eight

Wow, aren’t we lucky to be seeing this amazing view? We need to focus more on the good things! Times are hard and stressful these days, so we have to make extra effort to remind ourselves… in the everyday chaos of life, school runs, to-do lists, endless notifications, financial stress, work, and appointments, it’s so easy to overlook the simple beauty around us. We get swept up in the “what’s next” and forget to be in the “right now.”

That’s why taking a moment to slow down and appreciate the small things is so important for our mental health. These tiny pauses ground us. They reconnect us with the present, allow us to breathe, give our ever racing thoughts a break, and remind us that beauty can be in the simplest form.

Just yesterday, my 3-year-old reminded me of this in the most beautiful way. We were walking through town when she asked if she could stop and smell the flowers. She didn’t just take one quick sniff and move on. She bent down to each flower, closed her eyes, and really took it in. One at a time. I watched her as she delighted in the different scents, totally unhurried and fully absorbed in the moment. It was such a small thing, but it made me smile and really filled my heart up.

It made me realise: I need to be more like my 3-year-old. She’s not rushing through life. She’s not too busy to notice the flowers. And maybe that’s the secret we’ve forgotten. That joy doesn’t always come from the big milestones. Sometimes, it’s in the breeze, a giggle, a patch of sunshine on your skin, or the scent of a flower on the side of the footpath.

So here’s your little reminder (and mine too): pause. Breathe. Look around. Let yourself be moved by something small today. Because those tiny moments? They’re what make the big picture so beautiful.