It’s the first day of a new school year and on this day every September I stand before the students and staff and bring them a message for the year ahead. Something that reflects on the past year we’ve just had, and something to focus our minds moving forward.
These past 18 months of life have been a struggle for many of us. Some have managed to hang on and get by, and for others it’s felt like a living nightmare. But against the backdrop of these difficulties, many of us have learnt to appreciate the little things. We’ve spent more time with our families; we’ve developed increased appreciation of our friendships; we’ve found pleasure in creating our favourite snacks, spending time with our animals, or enjoying beautiful sunsets; and we’ve patiently and eagerly waited to be back in the outside world visiting places we love, relaxing and enjoying our favourite places to eat, to visit, or just to watch the world go by.
When we focus on what we lack, we find we never have enough. When we’re thankful for what we already have, we discover we have so much more. It’s easy to forget to be thankful for the normal everyday things in our lives and we hardly consider them at all until they are taken away.
Since January I’ve been trying to think more about the little things in my life and how they make me feel good. Each month I’ve taken time to write about three good things. There are always many more things I could consider, I could even look for three good things on every day, but taking time to do this at least once a month has been wonderful for my own mental health, helping me focus on what’s really important in my life and what brings me joy.
The saying goes that ‘it’s the little things’ that bring us joy day to day. To take a few moments here and there to focus on them can make life seem a little easier, especially when you’re struggling to find happiness. Some might say happiness is overrated but it’s not. Happiness is important. It makes you more relaxed, more resilient, and much more able to deal with life’s ups and downs.
The little things are important when thinking about others too. You might think that between friends the little things don’t matter, or if little things come between you you can just brush them off, forget and move on. But little things do matter. Small acts of love and kindness every day can mean so much more than big extravagant gestures. The little things can make all the difference allowing us to feel appreciated, and enjoy a more fulfilled life together. Doing something small for another person takes some time. It means you have to stop thinking about yourself or your busy day and give a bit of your precious time away. This can be tough when we are all so busy and want to fit so much in every day. But….the secret to having it all is knowing that actually you already do!
So this year I thought I would share with you all my message to students and staff to ‘enjoy the little things’. After all, it’s these little things that make life so wonderful.
Lisa Camilleri Executive Head Teacher
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