Life is such a handful (or bucketful) of complete nonsense; a box of mixed nuts of our favourites and those we would like to casually spit out. A whole smattering of it is great and don’t get me wrong for every scrap of goodness I am grateful. But there is a whole lot of life that isn’t good and those things are the things that wear us down. The opposite of positive sprinkles are negative tidbits; all the little things that get right under our skin like the daily stresses and negative experiences that slowly build up and cause us undue consequences wearing us down. Remember all the little good things add up but we have to be careful of all the little bad things that add up too. During some rough and stressful times I started seeking and looking for the little things that made me smile during even the most roughest of days.
On an absolutely terrible day I made a decision that completely re-framed my thought processes. I stopped at Tim Horton’s and decided to splurge with the rest of the change I had left for a vanilla dip sprinkle doughnut to accompany my coffee purchase. Leading up to this moment everything possible that could have gone wrong that day had. But that doughnut brought such a level of joy in such a bleak grey day with its colourful sprinkles. For the first time that day I had smiled and it was such a relief to have that sprinkle of happiness. The moment made me consciously reevaluate how I was going about my day and look for the other tiny things that I was overlooking while all the other things were going wrong.
It was a wonderful epiphany brought on at Tim Hortons. A reminder that I could look for my own proverbial sprinkles on my doughnut of a day. It was extra special that this epiphany occurred at it one of those places that is special to me because of all the memories I have of my dad there. Like a special gift (or a flick in the right direction) given to me by my dad via the Universe.
So, to define a positive sprinkle is as follows. A positive sprinkle in the simplest form is something (no matter the size) that puts a smile on your face. In a broader sense they could be a lifeline to life that you just needed right that moment.
To define something we have to describe it as well. A positive sprinkle can be big, small, round, square, delicious, teeny tiny, or even huge! No one sprinkle is necessarily the same for everyone. It is a very personal experience. For example finding a dime might be the thing that makes someone cry with joy, or a fresh pair out of socks from the dryer might be just the thing on a long day, or you might just catch the biggest break with green lights when you are running late. Positive sprinkles can also be much bigger like a job promotion, discovering a job opening in a dream location, receiving a gift you always wanted, going on vacation, or meeting a new little one in your family.
However, positive sprinkles are not simply limited by things you discover. They can also be created by you for others. If you get to witness their reaction there is a positive sprinkle for you brought to you by the warm and fuzzy feeling. Absolutely priceless. The sprinkles you create can be free like giving someone a compliment, greeting a neighbour, leaving a love note for someone you love, giving a hug, saying I love you, and the list goes on. They can fit any sort of shape you wish to give. It could be buying someone a coffee, letting a pedestrian cross the street, giving some change to a customer in front of you in line, donating food to your local food bank, making a donation to a cause close to your heart, and the list goes on.
Positive sprinkles are not limited to any one person or one type of person. They can happen for anyone who is looking for them. They are happening to you! The key is that the more you acknowledge the ones you are receiving the easier it is to find them. On a horrendous day you may have to really hunt for them or make one yourself just out of desperation. Or you could have a day that is a complete blizzard of sprinkles of all shapes and sizes. Positive sprinkles could be found in a tiny town, a big city, a school day, at work, or at home.
Now, I don’t want anyone to feel discouraged but when you first start doing this it can prove to be a difficult activity to engage in. I personally look at it in the light of it took a long time to become this downbeat and it is going to take time to become more positive. Some days it will be super easy to discover or create your own sprinkles. Other days it will be a challenge worthy of those tricky gold pieces you had to find in the Super Mario levels. (This makes me laugh thinking of all the times I kept resetting the level as I attempted to get that elusive piece.)
The good news is though that from my experience it does get easier. Little by little it becomes easier to spot them and unearth them from the daily chaos that is life. It becomes something you look forward to doing while also becoming those talking points in your gratitude reflections of the day.
So get out there! Dig around for your own positive sprinkles or make your own! You can make them for yourself or for others. Start easy and small by making some for yourself while making any you do find bonus sprinkles. It does get easier and easier. I promise.
