Joy…

Other Charms
via
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is brought to you by my carelessness. Let me explain…
About a week ago, I was majorly stressed out. I was having a hectic Friday at work, and my pounding headache was not letting up. In a rush, I packed all my favorite things for my weekend back home,  ran out the door and straight into the first cab I spotted. My adventure home from the city involves lots of rather annoying steps – taking a cab to the train station, a train to the suburbs, a cab from the train station to my car, and then a 3 hour drive home. On that Friday, I was in a rush, I was careless, and by the time I had gotten out of the cab and into the train station – I realized I had left my luggage in the cab. 
And in that moment where I realized most of my favorite things were driving away from me, I had a bit of a freak out. Having lived in the city for a whole 3 weeks, I wasn’t sure what to do or how to do it – so I of course called my boyfriend in a panic. In his ever calm way, he told me he would take care of it and asked me everything I could remember about the cab, my bag and it’s contents. I hopped on the train feeling a little queasy and kept on with my traveling. 
And then, of course – my phone died. I got off the train without a phone to call a cab and realized I had a 4 mile walk ahead of me. Annoyed and frustrated, I started walking in the Midwest summer heat. All I could think about was how dumb I was, and that if maybe I didn’t have a headache I wouldn’t have been so careless. 
The more I thought about my mistake {and the most expensive pair of shoes I had foolishly purchased and not yet worn in that luggage}, the more I realized that my biggest mistake was thinking that any of it was important. Everything, including that bag was just a ‘thing’ that could be replaced…and ‘things’ really don’t matter that much. Sometimes I get carried away in the ‘things’ that become clutter,  or the silly ‘things’ that complicate my life, or other people’s ‘things’ that I covet. When it all comes down to it, Joy isn’t in ‘things’ it is in us. It’s also in the people that we love and the love that we show ourselves. 
Low and behold, by the time I got to my car I was laughing and smiling, realizing that I could do without those shoes, clothes, or makeup bag for the weekend {or forever really}. When I turned on my phone, I saw a text from my boyfriend telling me he was in a taxi bringing home my luggage.  While I was thrilled he found it – it all seemed like an added bonus more than anything else. When it comes down to it, he is my joy.  Now I just have to make sure I never leave him in a cab carelessly – but I hope that will be too much of an issue.
Where do you find your joy? It’s always nice to hear what brings people happiness 🙂
Share:

11 thoughts on “Joy…”

  1. Ashley

    I know exactly how you feel. Since I travel all the time for work, I'm always double and triple checking that I'm not leaving anything behind or that my purse is in fact, by my side. At the end of the day, those things can all be replaced but my wonderful family, beau and friends can't. Love this little Wednesday reminder you posted.

    ps: so happy to hear that you did get your bag back though 🙂

  2. Alyssa

    This is such a great post, Maya! Honestly I think we all have days that get to this point…I know I do. Sometimes all it takes is a couple of deep breathes and a few minutes to realize that the things we're freaking out over aren't really THAT big of a deal (although, I would have TOTALLY freaked out about the luggage thing, too). I'm making a big effort lately to be positive and let the little day-to-day worries and bothers go, so this post was a great reminder!

  3. Alison Dulaney

    Great post Maya! I have been pretty stressed out too, I think finding happiness in the small things whether it is hitting my farmers market, buying flowers or baking make me happy:)

  4. Lauren

    This is really a good reminder! It can be so easy to get caught up in the stress of the moment! It usually takes me a little while to realize how insignificant my stresses really are. I need to be better about that!

    Lauren
    Fizz and Frosting

  6. Jen

    Well said Maya! I've definitely caught myself being attached to items in my closet when really in the whole scheme of things, they're really not important. I'm so glad Brian was able to keep you calm and track down your bag – thankfully we both have guys in our lives who balance out our craziness sometimes 🙂

    xo jen
    Pearls & Lace

  8. Rachel

    this is a great post! I honestly used to get stressed out at a lot of things I can't control, but I've gotten so better at it lately.

  11. Suzanne LeRoux

    Love this picture and this post! It is so hard to be calm when things go badly. And when they go badly, it is like a chain reaction. But if you just stop and breathe it gets better…and oh, it helps to have a fab boyfriend! 😉

Comments are closed.