Sometimes, life feels like one long to-do list. Wake up, reply to emails, try not to forget to eat lunch, act like you’ve got it together in meetings, call your mom back (eventually), and maybe squeeze in some sleep. It’s so easy to get swept up in all the rushing and hustling that we forget to notice the small, quiet things that actually make life feel worth it.
This past week wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exceptional either. Just another one of those in-between stretches where nothing massive happens, yet somehow you still feel like you’ve been running a marathon. But what got me through it were not the big wins or earth-shattering revelations. It was the tiny, almost invisible joys—the kind that sneak up on you, hug your soul for a minute, and then quietly vanish.
So, here are a few of those moments. Simple, ordinary, but in their own way, quietly magical.
1. Sunshine Through My Tiny Window
There’s something about sunlight pouring in through a small window that feels like the universe saying, “Hey, I see you.”
Earlier this week, I woke up grumpy, tired, and generally annoyed at everything and nothing at all. I shuffled into my room, expecting the same grey light that had been there the day before—but instead, there it was. Bright, golden, unreasonably perfect sunlight, spilling through my tiny window like liquid honey.
It lit up the dust on my desk in a way that looked strangely poetic. It warmed the wooden floorboards. It made me pause.
And that’s all it took. Just a few minutes of light, and I felt…okay. Not overjoyed or wildly inspired—just okay. And sometimes, okay is exactly what you need to get through the day.
2. Finding My Supposed Lost Bracelet
You know when you lose something that’s probably not expensive, but it’s deeply sentimental? That was me with a bracelet I thought I had lost forever. It had been missing for two days. I tore through my room like a raccoon in a trash can—frantic, dramatic, and absolutely convinced the world was conspiring against me.
Then I found it. Under my pillow.
I sat down and laughed at myself for a full minute. Isn’t it funny how something so small can carry such a wave of relief? That tiny moment felt like winning a game I didn’t know I was playing. I was ready to mourn it, to move on, but instead, I got it back—and with it, a small reminder: most things aren’t as lost as they seem.
3. Changing My Sheets and Organizing My Room
Okay, hear me out—nothing hits quite like crawling into freshly washed sheets after a long day.
Mid-week, I got this burst of motivation (read: procrastination from everything else I was supposed to do), and I decided to deep clean my space. Sheets changed, clothes folded, random receipts thrown out, candles lit. For the first time in a while, my room didn’t feel like a storage unit—it felt like a little sanctuary.
Clean space, clean mind. That old cliché? 100% true. That night, as I lay in bed, the lavender smell from my pillowcase was basically therapy.
4. Rewatching My Favorite YouTube Videos
We all have them—that one playlist, that one creator, that one video we keep going back to. For me, it’s a mix of nostalgic vlogs, cozy room makeovers, and silly compilations that make no real sense but feel like home.
This week, I rewatched one of my favorite travel vlogs. Nothing new, nothing groundbreaking, but somehow comforting. It felt like checking in with an old friend who always knows what to say, even when they’re not really saying anything.
We don’t always need something new. Sometimes we just need to return to what once made us feel good, and let it do its thing again.
5. Finishing a Book That Was Just Okay—but Made Me Feel Things
Not every book you read is going to be a masterpiece. Some are average. The writing’s fine, the plot is okay, the characters are… there.
But this one? While it may not have made my “must-recommend” list, it cracked something open in me. A throwaway line in chapter 14 somehow echoed a thought I didn’t even know I had been carrying.
And that’s the thing about art, even average art—it can find you in unexpected ways.
It reminded me that not everything needs to be perfect to be meaningful. Sometimes the mess, the mediocrity, the slow pace—that’s where the truth is hiding.
6. Booking Tickets for My Vietnam Vacation
I’ve been dreaming about this trip for months.
Life’s been loud lately—constant noise, constant screens, constant everything. The idea of walking through Vietnamese streets, tasting food I can’t pronounce, watching sunsets in silence, and just being… well, that’s been my mental escape.
This week, I finally booked the tickets.
Even though the trip is weeks away, hitting “Confirm” felt like pressing a giant reset button. It was a promise to myself: that rest is coming, that joy is on the horizon, that life isn’t just about productivity—it’s about experience.
7. My Cat Existing
If you have a pet, you already know.
There’s something about their quiet presence—the way they curl up beside you, the way they blink slowly at you like you’re the center of their universe, the way they completely ignore you until it’s mealtime—that just grounds you.
My cat didn’t do anything special this week. She just existed. She slept in sunbeams, knocked over a glass of water, chased a fly that wasn’t there. But in doing all of that, she reminded me to slow down.
To nap when I’m tired. To play for no reason. To stretch in the middle of the day.
She has no idea what day of the week it is, what deadlines I’m juggling, or what existential questions I’m trying to shove under the rug. She’s just here. And sometimes, just being is enough.
8. Discovering a Great New Coffee Brand
This one is small but mighty.
I stumbled across a new coffee brand while browsing online at midnight (because that’s when all the best decisions are made, obviously). Something about the packaging spoke to me—minimalist, earthy, promising. I ordered it on a whim.
When it arrived and I brewed that first cup, I swear the angels sang. It was smooth, rich, not too bitter, just right. The kind of coffee that makes you feel like you have your life together, even if everything around you says otherwise.
Now, my morning ritual feels a little more special. A little more like a gift. And that’s what it is, really—a tiny gift to myself, disguised as a hot beverage.
It’s the Little Things, Isn’t It?
This week didn’t give me a promotion or a life-changing realization. I didn’t run a marathon, fall in love, or make a viral post.
But I saw sunlight through a window. I found something I thought I lost. I read, cleaned, watched, cuddled, booked, brewed.
And in all those little things, I found something big: presence.
The world tells us to chase the big stuff—the milestones, the loud victories, the dazzling moments of success. But I think it’s the small, quiet joys that actually carry us through. They don’t shout. They don’t post about themselves. They don’t demand anything from us except that we notice.
So this is your reminder—and mine—to keep an eye out. To catch the sun when it slips into your room. To appreciate the cat just being a cat. To find delight in the routine, and let the tiny joys be enough.
Because more often than not, they are.
Ayerhs Magazine 