Inspiration: A Few Favorite Things…
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” Robert Brault
Inspiration: A Few Favorite Things… Orange silk cat – not entirely but read the post
The orange, hand-painted silk cat was a gift from my sister, way back in grade school. It now occupies a shelf in one of my twins rooms.
Inspiration: A Few Favorite Things… Virgin Mary with child
The plastic Virgin Mary with child was bought at a flea market when I first moved to NY. The elderly lady who sold it to me assured me that she had owned it since she was a little girl and it had traveled with her from Italy to the USA.
At first glance, the Writing Challenge topic enthralled me. Who wouldn’t want to share the various knick knacks that have journeyed with them through life’s roller coaster? I looked around and was quite surprised that nothing in particular stood out. Don’t get me wrong, I have beautiful things but nothing stood out. Why not? Well, certain things hold great value for us but the true treasures are beyond our things; they are the memories and people connected to those things. You see, as a child, I traveled and moved quite a bit so that my favorite things, my special knick knacks or heirlooms were, instead, memories held close to my heart and people, family and cherished friends, held even closer. We moved for good and bad reasons; my dad’s promotions and the civil war. Each move left me with lifelong lessons that persist today… More below!
“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.” Flora Whittemore
Inspiration: A Few Favorite Things… my two plus decades old plant
This indoor plant has followed me everywhere in the US. It is now the size of a small tree.
These are the indelible, lifelong lessons that I hold dear today: Cherish the good, celebrate and enjoy the abundance, travel the world, capture each happy moment in a friendship for the next move might mean we lose touch. Save items for days of shortages, become acutely aware of the brevity of life, and head for the hills when the enemy arrives. Yes, they were conflicting messages and left little room for choosing things as favorites. I looked around my home anyway and found a few things with a bit of longevity and personal history… After all, the little things matter.
I hope you enjoyed this post. What about you and your favorite things?
Have a spectacular weekend ahead! You are already a light on the path. What are your thoughts? Do you have one or several favorite things? Where did those things come from? What memories do they hold for you? What insights could you share with others? Do share! Thank you.
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Weekly Writing Challenge: A Few Of My Favorite Things
*Please bear with me as I catch up on your blogs and commenting… I’m back on track with reading and responding to your blogs; albeit at a slow pace. Thank you all for your patience!
Positive Motivation Tip: We walk our path in life to learn important lessons and connect with others… Cherish the love and the lessons.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos: via my personal collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
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I love your statute, virgin Mary… Such a wonderful possession to share with all of us.
Thank you Jackie and she is as bright as the day I bought it. 😉
I’m impressed that it’s not the most valuable or expensive that you’ve chosen to showcase, but the most precious…in terms of the sentimental connections. In other words, the true treasures..
Thank you Goz… You are right, the true treasures matter more to me than my things… 🙂
Is that an Aspidistra plant? They are amazingly long-lived. Thanks for sharing your favourite things. 🙂
Yes, it is and thank you for reminding me of the name… They are long living and mine has lived a long and cherished life; with ups and downs added… TY! 🙂
I enjoyed reading your post 🙂
TY dear NN! I still have to catch up with others… 😉
Usually the small things that we hang onto…always bring us a smile…and are always put back on a shelf somewhere…Loved your choices…~mkg
TY and I am still smiling from your comment. True! 🙂
My mom has a similar status of the Virgin Mary. She brought it from Italy 60 years ago. It stands in her bedroom window now. It evokes memories of when I was much younger, afraid to enter her room in the evening because the statue glowed in the dark. Now I look at it and it warms my heart.
Awesome! TY for confirming that the story the lady told me wasn’t a yarn… I wondered why she was selling it… but suspected it might have belonged to another woman from the old country who had passed on…
This is certainly an interesting topic and one that makes you stop and think about possessions we ahve gathered over the years. Or could it also be things I like like the sun setting on the ocean?
It could be both… Whatever rocks us to the core I suppose.TY! 😉
I like the way you think. very encouraging read, thank you 🙂
I appreciate your comment. The sentiments are mutual. TY! 🙂
My favorite things include posts like these, which remind me to be both cognizant of and thankful for my (other) favorite things. Most of all among these are the people in my life, past and present.
TY Deborah and it’s always a joy to see you visit… 🙂
I really liked the first quote also the last motivation Tip both Gems. Favorite things I know one is a necklace my father gave me with a tanzinite stone. It was very sweet and has sentementel value. Also a blue tea pot called a blue betty. A pretty colbolt blue teapot a coworker gave me, because I was drinking tea all the time at work. It is the simple things and the memories of people.
Yes, it is those simple things with strong memories that linger not the huge showy things… TY! 🙂
Little things can add up to big things – a nice “bouquet of moments” as I like to use. It’s not my phrase, someone said it to me a while back, but I use it frequently.
Great post!
I like that phrase… should use it sometime. TY for your comment. 😉
Wonderful touching post! So much caring to loved ones!
TY Tania! I believe we appreciate them more as we get older and learn from our share of disappointments and betrayals. 😉
I really enjoyed your honesty here when you went searching for meaningful things you own. It is not really the items themselves but the memories summoned as a response to the item.
Exactly… without the memories, the things are just things. TY! 🙂
“true treasures are beyond our things; they are the memories and people connected to those things” – I so agree! Great post Eliz!
TY and I’m with you on that one… Stuff is just stuff. 🙂
Beautiful post Eliz. Yes, our most cherished possessions are never the most valuable.
TY Madhu and I’m glad to have written this post because it brought it home to me in many ways… 🙂
I have a friend whose family lost everything in a fire and the only thing they have to cherish is not any material possessions but what they kept stored in their hearts. It reminded me, as your post, that every moment we live is precious and should never be taken for granted. Thanks, E.!
Well said! I agree. 😉
Things can never replace the memories we have in our lives whether good or bad. They are what make us whole. Nice post …!!! The cat is adorable.