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Life is full of simple blessings and joys

• Life holds so many simple blessings, each day bringing its own individual wonder. John McLeod
• The essence of life is not in the great victories and grand failures, but in the simple joys. Jonathan Lockwood Huie
• Enjoyment,  Savouring,  Joy,  Gratitude,  Appreciation

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Find joy in the simple things …

• The essence of life is not in the great victories and grand failures, but in the simple joys. Jonathan Lockwood Huie
• Teach us to delight in simple things. Rudyard Kipling
• Year by year the complexities of this world grow more bewildering, and so each year we need all the more to seek peace and comfort in joyful simplicities. Sarah Ban Breathnach
• Don’t overlook life’s small joys while searching for the big ones. Jackson Brown Jr.
• Some people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy. A.H. Maslow
• If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. R.R.Tolkien
• Some days, it’s simply about delicious acts of doing simple things, simply. Jack Ricchiuto
• You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you. Andy Warhol
• Joy

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… simple things such as these

• To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life. John Burroughs
• The simplicity of listening to a favorite CD, the calmness of soaking in a hot bath, the ease of resting on a bench at the edge of a garden: these personal spaces feed our souls, allowing us to restore our spirits and enjoy our lives. Chris Casson Madden
• Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers. Herbert Hoover
• It’s simple things, like a glowing sunset, the sound of a running stream or the fresh smell in a meadow that cause us to pause and marvel at the wonder of life, to contemplate its meaning and significance. Who can hold an autumn leaf in their hand, or sift the warm white sand on the beach, and not wonder at the Creator of it all? Wendy Moore
• After a visit to the beach, it’s hard to believe that we live in a material world. Pam Shaw
• And I learned what is obvious to a child. That life is simply a collection of little lives, each lived one day at a time. That each day should be spent finding beauty in flowers and poetry and talking to animals. That a day spent with dreaming and sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be bettered. But most of all, I learned that life is about sitting on benches next to ancient creeks with my hand on her knee and sometimes, on good days, for falling in love. Nicholas Sparks
• Boredom is what you fight. Constant, ever-present boredom. So you learn to look forward to small things. Sunlight glimpsed through a cloud, an extra piece of pie or candy, good thread to sew your blouse, a ribbon to wear in your hair. Valerie W. Wesley
• Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. Mark Twain
• I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. Leo F. Buscaglia
• If one could only learn to appreciate the little things … A song that takes you away, for there are those who cannot hear. The beauty of a sunset, for there are those who cannot see. The warmth and safety of your home, for there are those who are homeless. Time spent with good friends for there are those who are lonely. A walk along the beach for there are those who cannot walk. The little things are what life is all about. Search your soul and learn to appreciate. Shadi Souferian
• Instead of waiting for the big things to happen – marriage, kids, big promotion, winning the lottery – find happiness in the small things that happen every day. Little things like having a quiet cup of coffee in the early morning, or the delicious taste and smell of a homemade meal, or the pleasure of sharing something you enjoy with someone else, or holding hands with your partner. Noticing these small pleasures on a daily basis makes a big difference in the quality of your life.  Marc and Angel Chernoff
• One regret dear world, that I am determined not to have when I am lying on my deathbed is that I did not kiss you enough.  Hafez of Persia
• There is only one thing about which I shall have no regrets when my life ends. I have savored to the full all the small, daily joys. The bright sunshine on the breakfast table; the smell of the air at dusk; the sound of the clock ticking; the light rains that start gently after midnight; the hour when the family come home; Sunday- evening tea before the fire!  I have never missed one moment of beauty, not even taken it for granted.  Spring, summer, autumn, or winter.  I wish I had failed as little in other ways.  Agnes Sligh Turnbull
• The small things of life were often so much bigger than the great things… the trivial pleasure like cooking, one’s home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard. Barbara Pym
• The most significant gifts are the ones most easily overlooked. Small, everyday blessings: woods, health, music, laughter, memories, books, family, friends, second chances, warm fireplaces, and all the footprints scattered throughout our days. Sue Monk Kidd
• Life is made of small pleasures. Good eye contact over the breakfast table with your wife. A moment of touching a friend. Happiness is made of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. If you don’t have all those zillions of tiny successes, the big ones don’t mean anything. Norman Lear
• To poke a wood fire is more solid enjoyment than almost anything else in the world. Charles Dudley Warner
• The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you.  Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.   Robert Louis Stevenson

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Consciously choose to savour things

• To appreciate fully; enjoy or relish. American Heritage Dictionary
• Rather than merely reacting to positive events when they occur, people can learn to savour proactively – to consciously anticipate positive experiences, to mindfully accentuate and sustain pleasurable moments, and to deliberately remember these experiences in ways that rekindle enjoyment after they end.  Fred Bryant and Joseph Verdoff
• Researchers define savouring as any thoughts or behaviours capable of “generating, intensifying, and prolonging enjoyment.” The habit of savouring has been shown in empirical research to be related to intense and frequent happiness.  Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Savor it. Say mmmmmmm! Say “WOW!” Susan Jeffers
• The Warrior tries to enjoy the small everyday things of life. Paulo Coelho
• Savouring,  Enjoyment,  Pleasure

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Savour the simple things with a grateful heart

• As we become curators of our own contentment on the Simple Abundance path… we learn to savor the small with a grateful heart. Sarah Ban Breathnach
• Contentment has the ability to squeeze out of every situation all the good there is to get. Shantidasa
• Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things. Robert Louis Stevenson
• Gratitude,  Appreciation

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Savour the simple and small pleasures for they come far more frequently

• Human beings need pleasure the way they need vitamins.  Lionel Tiger
• It isn’t the big pleasures that count the most; it’s making a great deal out of the little ones. Jean Webster
• Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don’t collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don’t really mean anything. Norman Lear
• Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.  Soren Kierkegaard
• My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate. Thornton Wilder
• Why not seize the pleasure at once, how often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparations? Jane Austen
• Today no matter where I’m going, no matter what I’m doing, no matter who I’m doing it with, it is my dominant intent to look for and find things that feel good when I see them, when I hear them, when I smell them, when I taste them, when I touch them. Abraham-Hicks
• Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures. H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
• The moment I stopped spending so much time chasing the big pleasure of life. I began to enjoy the little ones, like watching the stars dancing in moonlit sky or soaking in the sunbeams of a glorious summer morning. Robin S. Sharma
• Life is in the little things

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Savour by being fully present

• To be aware of little, quiet things, you need to be quiet inside. A high degree of alertness is required. Be still. Look. Listen. Be present. Eckhart Tolle
• Live in the present,  Presence

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The little things in life aren’t little

• Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. Robert Brault
• I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones after all. Laura Ingalls Wilder
• In the dew of little things, the heart finds it’s morning and is refreshed. Kahlil Gibran
• It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important. Arthur Conan Doyle
• Let me tell you something big: Give importance to little things! Mehmet Murat ildan
• The significance is hiding in the insignificant. Appreciate everything.  Eckhart Tolle
• The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little. Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Life is in the little things

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The little things in life don’t cost much

• The best things in life are not only free, they require less assembly. Robert Brault
• The best things in life are free. American Proverb
• The best things in life…..aren’t things.  Art Buchwald
• It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy. George Horace Lorimer
• The little money I have – that is my wealth, but the things I have for which I would not take money, that is my treasure. Robert Brault
• If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy. Proverb
• The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith.  Bertrand Russell
• After a visit to the beach, it’s hard to believe that we live in a material world. Pam Shaw
• The best things in life are not only free, but the line is shorter. Robert Brault

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The simplest things in life are the most real and worthwhile

• It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. Laura Ingalls Wilder
• I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones after all. Laura Ingalls Wilder
• I believe we would be happier to have a personal revolution in our individual lives and go back to simpler living and more direct thinking. It is the simple things of life that make living worthwhile, the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty, work and rest, and living close to nature. Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. Robert Brault
• The aspects of things that are most important to us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity. Ludwig Wittgenstein
• The simplest things are often the truest. Richard Bach
• The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things of life. Robert Louis Stevenson
• Simple living

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The simplest things in life are the most wondrous and extraordinary

• Life holds so many simple blessings, each day bringing its own individual wonder. John McLeod
• It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them. Paulo Coelho
• Wonder

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The simplest things in life bring the greatest happiness

• When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things – not the great occasions –  that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.  Bob Hope
• Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things. Robert Louis Stevenson
• How simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. All that is required to feel that here and now is happiness is a simple, frugal heart.  Nikos Kazantzakis
• The art of contentment is the recognition that the most satisfying and the most dependably refreshing experiences of life lie not in great things but in little. Edgar A. Collard
• Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of fortune that happen but seldom. Benjamin Franklin
• I think it’s important to find the little things in everyday life that make you happy. Paula Cole
• I try to find a reason to laugh each day. Somehow, if you can incorporate laughter into your day, every day, it really helps. It’s the little things in life that make me happy. Faith Hill
• One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats. Iris Murdoch
• Precisely the least, the softest, lightest, a lizard’s rustling, a breath, a breeze, a moment’s glance – it is little that makes the best happiness. Friedrich Nietzsche
• The little things that makes you smile are like the happy sprinkles you add on top of your life. Nouf Alfadl
• The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions — the little soon forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimal of pleasurable and genial feeling. Samuel Taylor Coleridge
• The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things. Henry Ward Beecher
• Sometimes the most happy people in life are the ones with nothing. We can’t lose sight of the little things in life that should make us the happiest. Ryan Cabrera
• Happiness,  Contentment

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The simplest things in life are the most sacred

• The great lesson from the true mystics, from the Zen monks, and now also from the Humanistic and Transpersonal psychologists – that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends, and family, in one’s back yard … To be looking elsewhere for miracles is to me a sure sign of ignorance that everything is sacred.  Abraham Maslow

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The simplest things in life are the key to our well-being

• In Buddhism, it is considered appropriate and helpful to cultivate and enhance our well-being. We often overlook the well- being that is easily available in daily life. Even taking time to enjoy one’s tea or the sunset can be a training in well- being. Gil Fronsdal
• So creation really is more about loving yourself; it’s more about feeling your worthiness; it’s more about appreciating a friend; it’s more about enjoying the sunset; it’s more about enjoying the beautiful flowers. It’s more about finding reasons to relax into Well- Being, rather than gather up your strength and valiantly go forth to achieve your tasks, and serve your cause… because your “cause” is, to be the receiver and radiator of the love and Well-Being that is You. Abraham-Hicks
• Well-being

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Savour the simple and intimate moments

• Appreciate every little beautiful moment in every day of your life. Give it a try and you’ll see the world from another perspective. Thea Kristine May
• I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge our lives on. Rita Dove
• Life will sometimes hand you a magical moment. Savor it.   Jackson Brown Jr.
• Remember that life’s most treasured moments often come unannounced Jackson Brown, Jr.
• The little moments? They aren’t little. Jon Kabat-Zinn

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Savour this very moment of now

• Mining the moment for something that feels good, something to appreciate, something to savour, something to take in, that’s what your moments are about. Abraham-Hicks
• Develop an appreciation for the present moment. Seize every second of your life and savor it. Value your present moments.  Using them up in any self-defeating ways means you’ve lost them forever. Wayne Dyer
• We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are. Calvin & Hobbes
• Look lovingly upon the present, for it holds the only things that are forever true. A Course in Miracles
• Every moment is unique, unknown, completely fresh. Pema Chodron
• The best things in life are the nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you.  Robert Lewis Stevenson
• The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now. Thich Nhat Hanh
• What is the most important thing in your life? The answer: Right now.  Roshi Joan Halifax
• Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more. Mother Teresa
• Notice, look, feel, listen, sense, and give yourself fully to the experience you are having, and you will drop into the Now. Gina Lake
• Now is a priceless gift

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Savour each step of your journey without fixating too much on the destination

• Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses along the way. Old English Proverb
• Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. Climb slowly, steadily, enjoying each passing moment; and the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax for the journey. Harold V Melchert
• In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet. Albert Schweitzer
• The landscape changes, so enjoy it: of course, you have to have an objective in mind – to reach the top. But as you are going up, more things can be seen, and it’s no bother to stop now and again and enjoy the panorama around you. At every meter conquered, you can see a little further, so use this to discover things that you still had not noticed. Paulo Coelho
• We may run, walk, stumble, drive, or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way. Gloria Gaither    
• Somewhere on your journey, don’t forget to turn around and enjoy the view.
• You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut. Seuss
• Enjoy the journey, enjoy ever moment, and quit worrying about winning and losing. Matt Biondi
• Life is a journey

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Savour your memories too

• Studies show that those proficient at reminiscing about the past – looking back on happy times, rekindling joy from happy memories – are best able to buffer stress. Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Replay happy days. The practice of repetitively replaying your happiest life events serves to prolong and reinforce positive emotions and make you happier.  Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• We do not remember days; we remember moments. Cesare Pavese
• Good days are to be gathered like grapes, to be trodden and bottled into wine and kept for age to sip at ease beside the fire. If the traveller has vintaged well, he need trouble to wander no longer; the ruby moments glow in his glass at will. Freya Stark
• Pleasure is the flower that passes; remembrance, the lasting perfume. Jean de Boufflers
• To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward. Margaret
• Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind. Lionel Hampton
• Gratitude is the memory of the heart. French Proverb
• To be able to look back on one’s life in satisfaction is to live twice. Khalil Gibran
• Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. The Wonder Years
• God gave us memories that we might have roses in December. J.M. Barrie
• A pleasure is not full grown until it is remembered. C. S. Lewis
• Memories are like a garden. Regularly tend the pleasant blossoms and remove the invasive weeds. Linda Fifer Ralphs
• Cherish all your happy moments: they make a fine cushion for old age. Booth Tarkington
• Take lots of snapshots.   Jackson Brown Jr.
• The test of an enjoyment is the remembrance which it leaves behind. Jean Paul Richter
• Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love. I like to work, read, learn, and understand life. Langston Hughes
• Memory

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And savour the future too through anticipation

• Never forget that anticipation is an important part of life. Work’s important, family’s important, but without excitement, you have nothing. You’re cheating yourself if you refuse to enjoy what’s coming. Nicholas Sparks
• Anticipate the good so that you may enjoy it. Ethiopian Proverb
• Expectation whirls me round. The imaginary relish is so sweet that it enchants my sense. William Shakespeare
• Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them. You mayn’t get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them. L.M. Montgomery
• Anticipation was the soul of enjoyment. Elizabeth Gaskell
• The pleasure isn’t in doing the thing, the pleasure is in planning it. John Green
• ..that sanguine expectation of happiness which is happiness itself. Jane Austen
• …anticipation of happiness can sometimes be as gratifying as its consummation. Gaynor Arnold
• Anticipation of pleasure is, in itself, a very considerable pleasure. David Hume
• Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best,” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called. A. Milne
• Life needs mystery or else everything else flattens into a routine so familiar you wonder if you will ever get out of the rut. We need the sweet pain of anticipation to tell us we are really alive. Dave Kindred
• The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting. Andy Warhol
• Anticipation is sometimes more exciting than actual events. Ana Monnar
• Many live in dread of what is coming. Why should we? The unknown puts adventure into life. … The unexpected around the corner gives a sense of anticipation and surprise. Thank God for the unknown future. E. Stanley Jones
• Anticipation

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Sonja Lyubomirsky’s strategies to foster savouring

• Learn how to appreciate and take pleasure in mundane, everyday experiences like eating a meal, taking a shower or walking to the subway.
• Savour and reminisce with family and friends. The pleasure of the moment can be heightened in the company of others who similarly value the experience.  Marvel at the present moment with the other person.
• Be open to beauty and excellence. Allow yourself to truly admire an object of beauty or a display of talent, genius or virtue.
• Be mindful. Clear your mind and ground yourself in the present moment.
• Take pleasure in the senses. Focus on the sweetness of the ripe mango, the aroma of the bakery, or the warmth of the sun when you step out from the shade.
• Create a savouring album or blog. Include photos of your favourite people, places and things.
• Savour with your camera. Teach yourself to use your camera in a way that enhances your ongoing experiences, by truly looking at things and noticing what is beautiful and meaningful.
• Source: The How of Happiness (by Sonja Lyubomirsky)

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• A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. Confucius
• He who allows his day to pass by without practicing generosity and enjoying life’s pleasures is like a blacksmith’s bellows: he breathes but does not live. Proverb
• Success is how you collect your minutes. You spend millions of minutes to reach one triumph, one moment, then you spend maybe a thousand minutes enjoying it. If you were unhappy through those millions of minutes, what good is the thousand minutes of triumph? It doesn’t equate… Life is made of small pleasures. Good eye contact over the breakfast table with your wife. A moment of touching a friend. Happiness is made of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. If you don’t have all those zillions of tiny successes, the big ones don’t mean anything. Norman Lear
• Each day, awakening, are we asked to paint the sky blue? Need we coax the sun to rise or flowers to bloom? Need we teach birds to sing, or children to laugh, or lovers to kiss? No, though we think the world imperfect, it surrounds us each day with its perfections. We are asked only to appreciate them, and to show appreciation by living in peaceful harmony amidst them. The Creator does not ask that we create a perfect world; He asks that we celebrate it.  Robert Brault
• Material blessings, when they pay beyond the category of need, are weirdly fruitful of headache. Philip Wylie

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