The “Farm Fresh” Lesson: Finding Joy in the Little Things

 

What’s up, wonderful, amazing, sweet, and lovely people? How are you all doing today? I hope you’re having an amazing day and that you’re not letting anything—or anyone—steal your joy. Welcome to Mariam’s Joyful Life. It’s a beautiful day, and I’m so excited to be here with you!

Today, I want to share a story that still makes me laugh every single time I think about it.

A couple of years ago, the kids and I were reminiscing about when my sweet man first came into my life. The very first time he came to visit, he showed up with two brown eggs in his hands. Yes—two eggs! He had them carefully wrapped in a paper towel and said, “These are farm fresh eggs. You can’t get any better than this—straight from the farm.”

Now listen… the way he said it, I just knew he had stopped at a farm on his way to see us. In my mind, I pictured him pulling up to a little countryside spot, picking out the freshest eggs straight from the chicken coop, and bringing them over to make us breakfast. I thought, “Wow… this man really went the extra mile!” It added so much charm and thoughtfulness to how I saw him in that moment.

Fast forward to sometime later—we’re talking, laughing, and somehow those eggs come up again. And that’s when I find out…

Those “farm fresh” eggs?

Came from Walmart.

Yes. Walmart.

He had taken them out of the carton, wrapped them up, and brought them over like they were straight from the farm. When I tell you I was shocked! I said, “Wait a minute—what do you mean? I thought you stopped at a farm!” And he just laughed and said something like, “Yeah… the Walmart farm!”

Y’all… I could not believe it. All that time, I had this whole story built up in my head. Meanwhile, he thought he was joking or being playful, and I took him literally. Looking back now, it is one of the funniest things ever. The kids laugh, I laugh—it’s just a whole moment.

But you know what? There’s a lesson in that.

How many times in life do we take things too seriously? How often do we assign heavy meaning to something that was meant to be light, playful, or even humorous? Sometimes it’s not that deep—but we make it deep. We let our emotions get charged over things that were never meant to weigh us down.

That little “farm fresh egg” moment reminded me that life doesn’t always have to be so serious.

Sometimes, we need to go back to that childlike joy—the kind where you can laugh easily, let things roll off your shoulders, and just enjoy the moment. Not everything needs a strong reaction. Not everything deserves our stress or frustration.

Instead, what if we chose lightheartedness?

What if we looked for the humor?

What if we allowed ourselves to just laugh?

Life flows so much better when we do.

So today, I want to encourage you: make it a habit to find at least one or two things each day that make you laugh—really laugh. Let joy be intentional. Let it be part of your daily rhythm.

And if you’ve been feeling a little too serious lately, I hope this story brought a smile to your face and reminded you to lighten up just a little.

Thank you so much for spending time with me here on Mariam’s Joyful Life. Have a beautiful day—and remember…

Don’t let anyone steal your joy. 💛

SATURDAY STORY|| LIVING THE GRATITUDE STORY

 

What's up wonderful, amazing, sweet and lovely people. How are you all doing today? I hope you're you're all having a great day and are not letting anyone steal your joy. Welcome to Maryam's Joyful Life. Today is a beautiful day! Thank you for checking out my blog. 

Today, I want to share a very inspiring story I received via email yesterday with you. I hope you enjoy it and remember to be grateful no matter what the situation. The following story I am about to share, is from Proctor Gallagher Institute. 

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which read, “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat – spare change from folks as they hurried past. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. Then he put the sign back in the boy’s hand so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon, the man who had changed the sign returned to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?” The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.” I wrote, “Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.” Both signs spoke the truth. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign conveyed to everyone walking by how grateful they should be to see… When your life seems full of troubles, it seems difficult to maintain an attitude of gratitude, doesn’t it? All we see are our problems, like a blackened storm cloud casting a dark shadow over our lives. And the times when everything just seems to be going smoothly? We often take these precious moments for granted too, don’t we? Caught up in the bliss, comfort, and familiarity of it all, we can simply forget to be thankful. So what, then, is gratitude? Simply put, gratitude is a habit. It’s a way of looking at the world and all the good things in it with a feeling of appreciation, regardless of whether or not your current situation is to your liking. Gratitude is a heart-centered approach to being at peace with yourself and with all you have. When you practice this feeling of gratitude, it attracts even MORE things into your life for which to be grateful. Go ahead, try it out right now. What or who do you have in your life to be thankful for? Nick Ortner Nick is CEO of The Tapping Solution, LLC, a company with a mission to bring into the mainstream a simple, effective, natural healing method known as Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) or “Tapping.” Go here to see what it is all about: www.thetappingsolution.com

With gratitude, Maryam