San Miguel Days, And Little Packages of Happiness

The past few days, we have wandered down Correo from home to breakfast and grinned at the sight of three lovely sibling terriers and their owners walking back up the hill. Perky and curious animals, they just bring a little more joy into the morning.

I just read a memoir series – The Grape Series by Laura Bradbury. Most of the books bring to life Laura’s Burgundy, and family, neighbors, history, customs, and, of course, wine, in this region of France. A saying pops up as one of the key themes of book seven “My Grape Village.” Although it is French, I think we can also find a place for it in Mexico.

It is a philosophy. A lovely one to incorporate into our daily life, daily walks, relationships.

“Le Petit Bonheur du jour” = “the little happiness of the day”

“Trouvez ton petit bonheur du jour” = “Finding your little joy in each day”

I wrote a post in September 2020 called “I Love When I Am Surprised” about an afternoon of surprises on an unexpected walk through San Miguel.

There are happenstances every day. And working with the theme of the last two posts, sometimes we are more aware than others of what we let into our consciousness. It can be little or big, life-changing, or a small bonus to our day.

A sound can direct what our eyes land on, or a breeze, a movement, a smell.

We will stop in front of a carved door, a fountain, turn a corner, follow the mariachi, say “no” then “yes” to a vendor of empanadas, see the “just right” bougainvillea, find the perfect margarita, have the balloon overhead – hear the swoosh of the flame, find a picturesque old cart on the road, notice a new mural, taste a sinful dessert, find a cat amongst the flowers.

A doorway

Now, there is a piece of cake!

A basket of fresh empanadas

A yummy dessert

Sunbathing on our terrace

The tinkle of a fountain

An old cart

Reopening of the ejardin

A mural

The carved door

Color coordination

A salt-rimmed margarita

A cat amongst the flowers

A just right bougainvillea

Glenn and my lives in San Miguel are exactly what we hoped for. We never take them for granted. We never want to become complacent to the magic.

I have found that events and actions I magnified the significance of in the United States, typically annoying incidences, do not affect me the same here. I let irritations slide off my back, have fewer responsibilities. I am not overwhelmed. If those other frustrations aren’t setting me off, I have more energy, awareness, and time to enjoy the little things. I am going to make the most of it.

We are going to challenge ourselves to find our little joy each day. One thing that we can point to and say “there it is.” Something that gets a bit more attention than others. Our little surprise package.

We’ll gather them on an Instagram hashtag, starting with ones from San Miguel.   #lepetitbonheurdujoursma  One photo, one joy, each day.

We encourage you to find a little joy of your own.