The Sweet Life, Part One: La Dolce Vita

Maybe the first step in attaining the sweet life is to realize we already have everything we need.

This post comes from our FP contributor and friend, Anna, and part one in a 5-part series we’re sharing this week!

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Maybe it’s the new year, maybe it’s the afternoon sun warming my face through a window on the coldest day of the year. Maybe it’s a lot of things (and of course it is) but I don’t even feel compelled to find some justification for it: today I am happy.

Happiness is not something I take for granted. For as long as I can remember I had identified as being a pessimist, a worrier, and had always been overwhelmed by the feeling that I was waiting for my life to happen. But these were stories I told myself (we all have them) and it wasn’t until I started to abandon some of these old ideas, these stories, that I was able to start rewriting them and started living in the present, and dare I say, I started to feel happy.

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What are you grateful for today? This question used to make my eyes roll. Today I woke up and scribbled answers in my notebook until the page was full. I try to make a gratitude list every day; if I don’t have a pen and paper (but I always do), I make one in my head. This has showed me that not only do I always have something to be grateful for, but that the idealized life I had seemingly been chasing after for so long is already happening, I am living in it now.

I’ve never been one for New Years’ resolutions, but hey, I’m trying new things. This year I am trying to stay present. No worrying about the future (I think being excited is allowed) and no dwelling on the past (I am painfully nostalgic, or so I’ve been told). Although this goes against every natural instinct I have I’m going to really try, and I’m beginning to have some faith in myself.

We all deserve to have the best lives possible, the sweetest lives, but maybe the first step in attaining this is to realize we already have everything we need.

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Look outside, is it raining? Or maybe it’s snow, or the warm sun is shining. If it were me (and I suppose it is because I’m writing this) I would walk, in the city or in the woods or wherever you are, in whatever weather, feeling the air fill your lungs and the ground beneath your feet. And maybe you’d rather run, so run; feel the blood pumping through your veins, feel your muscles carrying you. And if you take a hot shower or soak in a bath tonight wont you think about the luxury of it all, the soft sheets on the bed, the candles burning by the window? Because once you notice the things in life you are grateful for you can’t un-notice them, but our stories can be written and rewritten, edited and revised.

Look outside, is it raining? Is it nighttime yet? It’s cold in New England, snow is falling quietly in the last hour of daylight, the tea in my cup is warming my hands. I think in this moment I have everything I need. I am already living the sweet life, and just maybe, you are too.

+ Are you living your sweetest life? Why or why not? Please share!

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8 years ago

Happiness and just being able to feel happy and allow yourself to be happy is definitely something to be taken for granted!

8 years ago

The feeling of belonging somewhere gives me the comfort of being grateful for everything.

megan
8 years ago

one of my favorite posts on this blog! so heartwarming and helped me see the good in the bad things that have happened to me this morning. I will have a grateful heart today❤️ thanks for all you do!

8 years ago

I was simply a random number, mom, and business women when I got a call a few months ago stating I had breast cancer. Oct, I had one surg, now in 3 weeks is my second,and in May will be the third. My sons have been there by my side every second. My oldest is just 16. He slept on a chair next to me at the hospital. His wishes ,as he told the nurse “If you have a pillow, Im good” . Point being, this whole experience is humbling. Happiness and the value of it, is in the humans we surround ourselves with. My boys inspire me, which in turn makes me smile. I buy good smelling things for the house that in turn will make you feel good ! Even alone I am happy knowing I must have a soul that shines, look at my boys. From day one they said “we got this, mom”.

Sofia
8 years ago

Here is a saying by Souza I read on a greeting card and now it is my mantra I start each day with, it goes “happiness is a journey, not a destination.”

8 years ago

I absolutely needed to come across this post. Very grateful.

8 years ago

This post is exactly what I needed… It presents beautifully exactly what I’ve been thinking over the past few weeks. Thank you so much for this.

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8 years ago

I can completely relate to this post. I think one of the most important things you can do to be happy in life is revise everything you are grateful for every single day.

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8 years ago

Beautifully written… just love it and how you put out these words. It all comes down to gratefulness and seeing the beauty of all that is already there. Thank you for your heartwarming beautiful and inspiring post.