Tiny Actions Create Ripples of Joy

I had an egg salad sandwich for lunch the other day.

Normally this wouldn’t be news but I love egg salad sandwiches and this was the first one I had ever made for myself.

My Mom loved these sandwiches too so she made them when I was a kid. I’ve enjoyed the odd one since, when I’ve been in a restaurant or other people have been serving them --especially my sister, who toast the bread – Mmm!. But I’ve never made one for myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve thought about it. A lot. I tried to cook eggs, but instead splattering my microwave with egg-white-shrapnel. I never quite got it together – thought it wasn’t worth the time. Or maybe I wasn’t worth the time.

But last Saturday,-I pulled down The Joy of Cooking, figured out how long to cook those eggs, boiled and cooled them, made the salad and, with boldness and gusto, enjoyed my egg salad sandwich. It wasn’t just the sandwich that was delicious – it was also the pleasure of creating joy for myself.

Why did it take over thirty years for me to give that simple pleasure to myself? That could be the subject of an entire book. The point is that I honoured myself with a tiny joyful action. It has led to other tiny actions of honouring myself and a cycle of positivity that ripples out into my life and those around me.

What about you? What simple pleasure have you been waiting to enjoy? What is the first thing you need to do to make it happen? Could this be the week you honour yourself by taking that tiny step?