Getting a post card is like getting a completely unexpected positive sprinkle that you had no idea you were looking for in the first place or that you knew was on its way. With its interesting photo or art it makes you stop and observe. Then you get the delightful part of getting to read the message scrawled on the back.
Positive Sprinkles come in all sizes.
It is easy to find positive sprinkles when everything is going well. It can be easy to find them on good days. It can be easy to find them when your attitude and outlook are spot on with your environment. It is entirely different on the other days.
A simple explanation of positive sprinkles is this: they are the things that make you smile or bring you joy. They can be:
- Huge: Like a piece of fantastic news, a job promotion, or a big life event. (etc.)
- Big: A big surprise (like your family cleaning the house when you are stressed), a package you have been waiting ages for, the ability to purchase something you have waited a long time to get, making progress on a goal, or having that appliance fixed. (etc.)
- Small: taking a baby step on a goal, having a pot of coffee made before you did it, discovering the kids put their laundry away, having kids start their chores without fuss, finding out you did in fact wash that shirt you wanted to wear today, or climbing into bed with fresh sheets. (etc.)
- Tiny: exchanging a smile with a stranger on the sidewalk, finding a dime on a walk, noticing a new flower in your garden, hitting all the green lights, or putting on your favourite socks. (etc.)
Positive sprinkles are the things we must look for to get through this crazy thing called life. They are the little things that add up quite quickly in a big way. They can be that tool that we use to ensure we don’t wash a day, week, or year with a sweeping comment.
Surprise Mail: Post Cards Arrive: Snail Mail Mood Booster
I recieved both sets of post cards on days where the days were rough for wear. Days that we would like to just label and stick in a box to forget about later. Days when chaos ensues and at no point in the present or the future would we find them funny. (Think of the days that you just want the day to end; every little thing is a problem; the days when children’s ear batteries are clearly in need of a charge or replacement.)
I checked the mail both days not because I was expecting something but rather as an act of habit. Like really, who gets mail anymore that is not just a bill or some sort of advertisement? (Isn’t it funny all those little habits we picked up ages ago that we still do completely out of habit and not because there is a distinct use for them.)
When I opened the mail box I was so surprised to see the post cards there. (On both days.) I wasn’t expecting them in any of my wildest dreams but there they were. Sent from my sister that I haven’t spoken to in a long time. They were a wonderful surprise. The kind and loving words to our family on each card meant a lot to me. They were a positive sprinkle that I didn’t even know I was looking for to arrive. Their arrival did more than touch base between us. They brought a positive sprinkle to my day, a smile on my face, and boosted my spirits.
To be honest, sometimes we are so buried in our own bullsh*t that we don’t realize how out of the loop we are not just in the day to day but living in general. How long had I just been sitting in a loop of never ending nonsense instead of doing about it. It was a light bulb moment that while the world and days were going by here I was sitting on a toddler roller coaster going round and round and not getting off. Her post card brought a gift of ripping up my ticket to nonsense. Since receiving them I have been working on my personal goals while recognizing that I too can do things.
So Let This Be Your Post Card Moment.
This post can be your post card moment. A reminder to look for positive sprinkles. Some days it will be easier to find them than others. Even on the worst days of complete chaos you can find them. Sometimes they are super tiny and sometimes they are bigger but you don’t notice them. If you can’t seem to find any….. MAKE THEM! You can make your own sprinkles! You can sing in the shower, you can leave a note for yourself in your drawer to find later, you can be the stranger that smiles first on the sidewalk, and you can take that baby step out of your comfort zone. Just think like me, you could be standing there feeling anxious in the grocery store, grab something you have never tried down one of those aisles. If you get it and you like it… positive sprinkle! If you get it and don’t like it…. positive sprinkle (with the funny little story you can tell of how disastrous that was!)