{"id":1815,"date":"2014-12-02T15:02:36","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T15:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/?p=1815"},"modified":"2021-05-08T14:40:58","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T14:40:58","slug":"celebrating-everyday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the Everyday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1816\" src=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"pancakes and bacon\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>I celebrated a birthday this past weekend. For several days, cards arrived in the mail, mostly poking fun at the process of aging and regaling the virtues of friendships that, like fine wines, improve over time. I organized an outing to a jazz club that many of my gal pals opted in on. Perhaps not their favorite form of entertainment, as birthday girl, getting to choose for the group is a privilege I delight in.<\/p>\n<p>I bought myself a new sweater &#8212; not from a thrift store. (I actually had to cut the plastic tags off.) I shared the honors of blowing out the candles that topped a birthday cake with a friend whose birthday is within the same week.<\/p>\n<p>Ah rituals, I love them. They bring life to a very feeling level. They circumvent information that often cloak more important things and remind you that it\u2019s okay to feel sad or excited or hopeful. HUMAN.<\/p>\n<p>Several years ago, I started a habit, a ritual, which I conducted before meals to celebrate <strong><em>the everyday<\/em><\/strong>. I don\u2019t know why I stopped observing this ritual, but I brought it back this past week when I decided to honor a craving I had to eat pancakes.<\/p>\n<p>I microwaved a few slices of thick-cut bacon (a rare indulgence) and mixed up a bowl of pancake batter using eggs and milk and oil; the real deal. I tossed in a few dried cranberries.<\/p>\n<p>After I arranged the bacon and pancakes on my plate (and poured on some real maple syrup), I stuck a small candle in the top flapjack, lit it, and began singing <strong><em>Happy breakfast to me<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>At different times, I\u2019ve stuck candles in omelets or burgers or potatoes or meatloaf, lit them and belted out <strong><em>Happy dinner to me<\/em><\/strong>, or <strong><em>Happy lunch to me. <\/em><\/strong>Associating the special occasion tune with something I usually do without any thought seemed to bring me to a new level of appreciation for <strong><em>the everyday<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>When people think of having gratitude for little things, it still often revolves around something turning out in a pleasant way like choosing the grocery store checkout line that moves the fastest or grabbing a parking space on the same block as your destination or finding a place for a good $15 haircut. I know I\u2019m often on the lookout for small boons.<\/p>\n<p>But being grateful for small things and celebrating<strong><em> the everyday<\/em><\/strong> is more fundamental than this. It\u2019s about seeing <strong><em>everything as God<\/em><\/strong>, or everything as Consciousness or energy. Maybe you have your own words. EVERYTHING is part of LIFE. Being alive is cause itself for celebration.<\/p>\n<p>LIFE is a constant stream of different experiences, not just a highlight reel. I want to remember to take gratification from showing up for <em>the work<\/em>, growing from my experiences, and to feel grateful for being part of the dance.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been sad lately. I\u2019ve noticed feeling regret that I\u2019m not where I want to be. Sometimes I wonder why I haven\u2019t fully taken on habits and beliefs that would serve me better. It\u2019s easy to forget that each time I fall short and begin again, there is a new understanding of myself that actually takes me closer to full expression.<\/p>\n<p>I think I really like the ritual of singing Happy Breakfast (or Happy Dinner) to me because the ritual reminds me to celebrate showing up for <strong><em>everything<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Making time to sing<\/em><\/strong> amid the joys and disappointments &#8212; the messiness of life &#8212; is no small thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I celebrated a birthday this past weekend. For several days, cards arrived in the mail,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","grateful-dozen-noticing-small-things","grateful-dozen-self-appreciation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Celebrating the Everyday &#8211; No Small Thing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrating the Everyday &#8211; No Small Thing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I celebrated a birthday this past weekend. For several days, cards arrived in the mail,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"No Small Thing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NoSmallThingMindfulMeditations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-02T15:02:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-08T14:40:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"nosmalladmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"nosmalladmin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"nosmalladmin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/068a68011d8a650958cb95074ba6251b\"},\"headline\":\"Celebrating the Everyday\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-02T15:02:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-08T14:40:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":594,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/\",\"name\":\"Celebrating the Everyday &#8211; No Small Thing\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-02T15:02:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-08T14:40:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/12\\\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/celebrating-everyday\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Celebrating the Everyday\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/\",\"name\":\"No Small Thing\",\"description\":\"Mindful Meditations\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"No Small Thing Mindful Meditations\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/NoSmallThing-MindfulMeditations-Deborah-Hawkins2021-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/NoSmallThing-MindfulMeditations-Deborah-Hawkins2021-1.png\",\"width\":448,\"height\":144,\"caption\":\"No Small Thing Mindful Meditations\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/NoSmallThingMindfulMeditations\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/instagram.com\\\/nosmallthingdeborah\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/deborah-hawkins-08958012\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nosmallthing.net\\\/main\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/068a68011d8a650958cb95074ba6251b\",\"name\":\"nosmalladmin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"nosmalladmin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Celebrating the Everyday &#8211; No Small Thing","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Celebrating the Everyday &#8211; No Small Thing","og_description":"I celebrated a birthday this past weekend. For several days, cards arrived in the mail,...","og_url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/","og_site_name":"No Small Thing","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NoSmallThingMindfulMeditations\/","article_published_time":"2014-12-02T15:02:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-05-08T14:40:58+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"nosmalladmin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"nosmalladmin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/"},"author":{"name":"nosmalladmin","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/068a68011d8a650958cb95074ba6251b"},"headline":"Celebrating the Everyday","datePublished":"2014-12-02T15:02:36+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-08T14:40:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/"},"wordCount":594,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/","name":"Celebrating the Everyday &#8211; No Small Thing","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg","datePublished":"2014-12-02T15:02:36+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-08T14:40:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/pancakes-and-bacon-300x225.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/celebrating-everyday\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Celebrating the Everyday"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/","name":"No Small Thing","description":"Mindful Meditations","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#organization","name":"No Small Thing Mindful Meditations","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/NoSmallThing-MindfulMeditations-Deborah-Hawkins2021-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/NoSmallThing-MindfulMeditations-Deborah-Hawkins2021-1.png","width":448,"height":144,"caption":"No Small Thing Mindful Meditations"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NoSmallThingMindfulMeditations\/","https:\/\/instagram.com\/nosmallthingdeborah","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/deborah-hawkins-08958012"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/#\/schema\/person\/068a68011d8a650958cb95074ba6251b","name":"nosmalladmin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b5b02579b0ef8b6e2bb1dde5b72a3a336d4ede128ab2c79fb0dd996649644a56?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"nosmalladmin"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"nosmalladmin","author_link":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/author\/nosmalladmin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"I celebrated a birthday this past weekend. For several days, cards arrived in the mail,...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1815\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}