small and serendipitous thrills.............

      Satisfaction comes not from chasing bigger and bigger things, but paying attention to smaller and smaller things. . . .

       Once, my wife and I were at the home of close friends, eating and drinking out in their garden.  It was dusk, and they asked us to gather around a plant with small, closed flowers.  "Watch a flower," one of them instructed.  We did so, for about ten minutes, in complete silence.  All at once, the flowers popped open, which we learned that they did every evening.  We gasped in amazement and joy.  It was a moment of intense satisfaction.

     But here's the interesting thing: Unlike most of the junk on my old bucket list, that satisfaction endured.  That memory still brings me joy—more so than many of my life's earthly "accomplishments"—not because it was the culmination of a large goal, but because it was a small and serendipitous thrill.  It was a tiny miracle that felt like a free gift, freely given.

-Arthur C. Brooks, From Strength to Strength