Gatekeepers of enjoyment

You will enjoy your day to the exact degree you allow yourself to. 

Of course there are days that are not enjoyable. Of course life presents hardship. Unavoidable, painful hardship. But who is the gatekeeper of your own enjoyment? People acting in ways you’d rather they don’t? Circumstances outside your control? If we allow these things to be the gatekeepers, we’ll end up enjoying fewer days than we ought to. 

Certainly, you’ve had hard days that you enjoyed anyway, right? And we’ve all let beautiful days slip by us unnoticed, unappreciated. This tells me that we are the gatekeepers of our own enjoyment. There are many small annoyances that could be funny, if we allow them. Many plants that could be beautiful, if we took a moment to look at them. Many breezes that could feel amazing if we accepted them. Many people we could love, if we let love in. 

As Annie Dillard once wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” What if we allowed ourselves to enjoy today?