Simple Joys

Being back in Michigan affords me a lot of different enjoyments; the simple kind that you can't pay for. What a simple joy it is to walk barefoot in the grass.
I have always been a fan of bare feet. Even when I lived in Arizona for 11 years, I rebelliously walked barefoot outside a lot. I say I was a rebel, because bare feet in Arizona is at best ill-advised. But yet, just for the thrill, I would venture out onto hot pavement, rocky terrain and any number of pestilent perils. There were scorpions, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, and lots of black widows. I know someone who's scorpion bite lost them about six months of memory. Heck, my poor dog was bitten by a scorpion and suffered three days of paralysis in his back legs. Why would I continue to go outside barefoot?
Only now that I am back in my home territory can I realize why. Because this is how I always did it. In Michigan, we don't have to think about poisonous snakes and killer bugs. I spent my childhood sans shoes. Walking barefoot in the grass is a like a childhood blanket, or your mothers voice as she read you stories. It is an ingrained, deeply rooted memory. It encapsulates the freedom of childhood.
Maybe I so identify this as freedom, because even though I kept doing it in Arizona, it was never safe, nor terribly enjoyable. I never contemplated why I would risk heel and toe on my dark driveway or by the pool or to the mailbox. I just did it.
Now I realize I wasn't going to let that part of me die. The barefoot, back yard adventurer lives. Now I'm back in safe barefoot land and I love stepping out the door without a thought as to where my shoes might be. I get to water flowers in the pre-dawn cool, feet naked and unabashed; sinking slightly into the black dirt, wet blades tickling my toes.
It's these small things, when paid attention to, that increase our joy quotient. As humans, we tend to focus on the 'big' things that will bring us joy. How much more enjoyable could our days become if we were to focus on simple joys? The morning light shining through an open window, the breeze that smells of spring, the sound of children laughing and playing, riding a bike with the wind in your hair,  waves crashing on the beach or the feel of bare feet freely frolicking in the green, green grass. Take some time today to enjoy a simple moment of your own and in this way, spend some time really living.  

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.  ~Leonardo DaVinci