Picnic Perspective

Monday night Marty and I decided to make chicken salad sandwiches and go have a picnic. Why does eating your food on a blanket in a field of grass make all your problems seem so small? When we were finished eating we laid back on our blanket and watched the clouds roll by. I think that the opportunity to be stressed out in life is always there if your looking for it, but I think we'd all be a lot happier if we looked instead for ways to let things go. I remember in my middle school gym class our awesome buff midget gym teacher Ms. Walton had us do some relaxation yoga one day. For some reason I always think of her words when I'm trying to let things go, she said to "put your problems in a balloon and imagine them floating away". I thought of her words as Marty and I laid in a field of grass and I put every little negative thought about life and myself in a balloon (it's always a red balloon that I imagine). I find it fascinating which little thoughts stick with me, mostly because they seem so insignificant at the time. Ill never really understand how the brain makes connections. When I played soccer as a kid I would somehow always conjure an image of a little red wagon as I ran across the field. In one of my favorite book series The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Lena the Greek girl always thinks of Ritz crackers when she shaves her legs. I've always been a collector of things and I'm beginning to realize that I am also a collector of thoughts as well. I adore those little nuggets of thought that keep me company when I let my mind wander. I feel like I don't give myself enough time to wander in my own mind sometimes. Recently life has been so busy and I feel like I force my creativity to work instead of play. I know that life is only going to get busier, but I can remember to have a picnic perspective on life. I can take joy in those small moments when life just seems perfect. They may be small moments but I can choose to add them to the dusty shelf in my mind of my fondest memories. I can give myself more favorite places to journey to in my daydreams...