An Ode to Pleasant Surprises

It is now the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and I just read the newspaper, un-rushed, in its almost entirety. The weathermen are predicting storms and have warned everyone to get where they need to go early. A young man, who made it his mission to travel public transit systems in different cities across the world, came to Boston and rode the entire MBTA in 8 hours and 16 minutes. I like picturing him bopping around from car to car, chatting up people who are going about their days dressed in suits and sweatpants, towing around yoga mats, briefcases, paper grocery bags and bouquets of flowers. A Harvard coding class is increasing in popularity among all kinds of students, from philosophy majors to pre-med. Nicolas Sparks released a new novel. And Alison Rimm, former SVP for strategic planning and information management at MGH, shared her thoughts on how make a personal strategic plan for happiness.

In this apartment, my roommate is cleaning her bedroom while listening to reruns of This American Life. She sweeps the floor, collects and washes forgotten water glasses and recycles old papers, magazines and used envelopes. Both of us read an article about the productivity habits of successful CEOs and business people and decide, collectively, that we are most productive when our day isn’t sliced up and calculated, but instead when we have space to think, appreciate and be surprised. 

I have a lot to be thankful for this year: I just got a new job after three years of growth, challenge and learning at another job and have these few days before Thanksgiving to do whatever I want. My whole family is home and healthy, including the golden retriever, Macey, now 13 and a half. I also have all of the ingredients needed to make Pecan Pie.

We all have these overarching parts of our lives to be grateful for: family, friends, opportunity, etc., etc., etc. But it’s also through the intentional appreciation of the small things that can give us lots of joy and energy. Like the consistency of the group of older Italian men who gather outside of T & C Convenience on Somerville Ave at 6 AM each morning to chat, smoke cigarettes and sip coffee from paper cups; the cashier at Star Market who gave me two dollars in quarters for my laundry when she herself was running short; the coincidence of just enough postage stamps; and the unique smell and warmth of carrying towels fresh out of the dryer up the stairs.

Thich Nhat Hahn writes: “Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”  If you let it, the earth will kiss you back.