Stories of small margins that make every day a little more fun

Good morning.
How are you spending your morning today?
It might be a busy time of year as we approach the end of the year. Please take care of your health.

This morning, I had a breakfast that made me feel a little excited.
It's not like every day is like this, but I feel like it would be nice if mornings like this increased, even if just by one.

The reason is that I recently had an experience that made me rethink, "Life is meant to be enjoyed, isn't it?"

There was a photo in a booklet that was passed around at work.
It showed people working in a facility and people living there.

Even though that wasn't what the photo was originally trying to convey, my eyes were drawn to the nameplate on the door of a resident's room.
It had a large drawing of the local professional baseball team on it.

I didn't even have time to read it properly because I was so busy, but my hand stopped involuntarily, and my heart felt suddenly warm.

I don't know if it was a staff member or the resident who drew the picture, but beyond things like "because it's my job" or "this is how it's usually done,"
"Wouldn't it be fun if we did this?" "This might be kind of nice."
I felt like there was a little bit of playfulness there.

Unpretentious, honest consideration, excitement,
I felt the sentiment of "I want you to enjoy this" or "That would be more fun" seeping through, and the moment I saw it, I felt relieved.

When I suddenly looked back on myself recently, with overtime continuing every day,
I might have been prioritizing "I have to" over "I want to" or "this is fun."
I wondered, how many moments have I had where my heart was moved?

Of course, there are many things that must be done.
But as long as we are alive, we are allowed to enjoy ourselves, and we can even make enjoying ourselves a goal.

Putting a little extra effort into cooking,
decorating for the season,
talking with people you can laugh with,
doing things because you want to make someone happy,
these are all important "joys" in life, aren't they?

There may be many things that are difficult at work, but
at the very least, in my daily life, I want to cherish what I like and what excites me,
and I want to live while keeping a margin to pick up on "fun," even in small things.

May your daily life be gently overflowing with warm joy today as well.

Have a great day.