It's The Little Things (Tara Taylor Quinn)
posted by Tara Taylor Quinn
on
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
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Why is that it takes life to get tough before we stop and smell the roses? I've been on such tight deadlines lately - in the midst of traveling to promote my October suspense, In Plain Sight - that my stress level hit the dangerous mode. You know, that time when everything registers in the red - your temper, you bank account (because you didn't take the time to deposit the checks that have arrived), passions. Everything is over the top. You cry more easily, anger more easily, need more love. You've got nowhere to go but over the top. So there I am, at the top, ready to topple over, and I look down to where I might land and see the most amazing things. Not because they haven't been there, but because I'm actually looking.
The sky is this cerulean, perfect and clear amazing blue. (Really, it is. This isn't just over the top stress talking.) And the ragged mountain peaks - opposite the one my ofice sits on - reach toward that sky with such strength and purpose. All around me are magnificent plants, saguaro cactus and prickly pear, teddy bear cholla, ocotillo. The rock formations are mind boggling in their differences. Quartz glistens in the sun, sparkling like diamonds.
And a little closer in, there's my baby girl, Taylor Marie, in her four pound princess glory. She's a toy poodle, named after her mama and her sissy and she's proud of that. Proud of herself. She's learned how to play by herself lately, but she doesn't complain. As I write this she's tipping her bed full of toys over. I know her plan. She's going to climb up on top of the bottom of the bed rather than lay inside like ordinary beings do. That's how Taylor is. Rather than following the status quo, she rearranges her world to suit her. I love that. And her.
As I focus a little closer, I find Raggedy Ann. She's just over two feet of soft, stuffed love. She's been sitting in my chair with me for the past month - ever since the day I was so involved in my October, 2007 suspense, Behind Closed Doors, that I needed to hold her to stay in my chair. She was happy to comply. And to reassure me that all was not darkness and fear. I liked that. I like her. So here she sits.
Here, if I'll only take time to look are all the small things - the tools that life gives for free, every day, readily available to bring joy and pleasure and peace to my days. My favorite song is playing on my computer. I have a diet coke in the glass next to me. It sits on a coaster that my best friend bought for me during a trip we took together.
Life is good. Life is great. It's just a matter of sharing the small things.
ttq
The sky is this cerulean, perfect and clear amazing blue. (Really, it is. This isn't just over the top stress talking.) And the ragged mountain peaks - opposite the one my ofice sits on - reach toward that sky with such strength and purpose. All around me are magnificent plants, saguaro cactus and prickly pear, teddy bear cholla, ocotillo. The rock formations are mind boggling in their differences. Quartz glistens in the sun, sparkling like diamonds.
And a little closer in, there's my baby girl, Taylor Marie, in her four pound princess glory. She's a toy poodle, named after her mama and her sissy and she's proud of that. Proud of herself. She's learned how to play by herself lately, but she doesn't complain. As I write this she's tipping her bed full of toys over. I know her plan. She's going to climb up on top of the bottom of the bed rather than lay inside like ordinary beings do. That's how Taylor is. Rather than following the status quo, she rearranges her world to suit her. I love that. And her.
As I focus a little closer, I find Raggedy Ann. She's just over two feet of soft, stuffed love. She's been sitting in my chair with me for the past month - ever since the day I was so involved in my October, 2007 suspense, Behind Closed Doors, that I needed to hold her to stay in my chair. She was happy to comply. And to reassure me that all was not darkness and fear. I liked that. I like her. So here she sits.
Here, if I'll only take time to look are all the small things - the tools that life gives for free, every day, readily available to bring joy and pleasure and peace to my days. My favorite song is playing on my computer. I have a diet coke in the glass next to me. It sits on a coaster that my best friend bought for me during a trip we took together.
Life is good. Life is great. It's just a matter of sharing the small things.
ttq
Patricia Potter
Tara Taylor Quinn
Maggie Shayne
Anne Stuart
Suzanne Forster
Lynn Kerstan
2 Comments :
And the more we focus on the small, positive things, the further away that red-haze fades.
A friend of mine is fond of saying, "You can always reach for a better thought." And there's a whole lot of wisdom in that piece of advice.
Lovely post, Tara! And so true. You and I have much in common. Things get really dicey when my stress level tops out. The anger, the tears, all of it. I find myself snapping at voice mail messages and automated menus on the phone. Really crazy.
That's when I know I have to take a break. I usually think in terms of getting OUT of my work space, but I love your idea of having little things in my workspace that bring me comfort, a sense of tranquility, and especially, touch my heart. I do have a Coping file of great tips and sayings and I sometimes drag that out. It's amazing how little it takes to have a calming effect. We just have to take the time to do it.
I'm glad you're better!
Hugs,
Suz
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