Enjoying The Little Things That Make Life Worth Living

I want to live in the present moment because time is a currency I can’t earn back.

I felt extremely content during a riverside walk with my girlfriend. Photo taken by the author’s girlfriend and used with permission.

There’s a beach just around the corner from my apartment. Perched on the clifftop overlooking the ocean is an old bench, its wood worn smooth by countless seasons.

I come here every morning. There’s a gentle miracle in the dawn that seems almost too delicate to touch. The air is crisp and cool, carrying the faint scent of salt and seaweed. It’s moments like these, delicate and fleeting, that allow me to reflect and find inner peace.

Here is the wooden bench where I’d sit on top of the clifftop each morning and contemplate life. Photo taken by the author.

I walk further up the clifftop path beside a row of nearby houses. A man is tending to his garden, watering some flowers. Reminds me of when my grandfather and my childhood self planted flowers, watered them in the spring, and jumped up and down for joy when they finally bloomed.

“We’re not just planting seeds,” my grandfather said. “We’re believing in them!”

I can’t help but smile whenever I think about those good old days. Back when life wasn’t filled with endless responsibilities and deadlines. When the biggest thing on my mind wasn’t tedious tasks or endless meetings, but the quiet happiness of planting flowers and watching them grow. That’s why I now vow to pause, breathe, and appreciate the little things that make life beautiful.

My childhood self climbing trees in the back yard of my grandfather’s house. Photo taken by the author.

I’m sitting in a beachside cafe opposite my father. Nearby, waves lap against the shore, creating a peaceful soundtrack as we reminisce about the past.

“Do you remember digging a hole right over there?” he asks, pointing at a large section of sand on the beach.

“How could I forget?” I chuckle, as the memory comes to life. “As a child, all I wanted was to dig to the center of the Earth.”