Sprinkles

I have a shirt that reads “Life is better with sprinkles!”

While the context is for ice cream (yumm!), it invites deeper reflection. First off, it suggests that the base norm is good. For ice cream is good (I’m not familiar with ‘bad’ ice cream!); and sprinkles just make it better.

So, following last week’s reflection on hope, I’m going to encourage us to start from that place of goodness. Life is good. Sure there are moments we dislike, but when we dwell in hope, life is good. And when we don’t see the goodness, we can bring the good to life.

So with that as a starting point for our metaphor, I encourage us to reflect on our sprinkles - what makes your life better? What are the sprinkles that coat the days with happiness?

We all have them, those little moments of happy that may be unexpected: a dad joke, a call from a friend, a pet snuggle, a meaningful bible verse popping through an app on our phone.

We can all provide them, too: a kind word to the person in front of us in line at the store, an unprovoked text to a dear one, tidying the kitchen after a family meal.

These are moments that make our days a little bit more special, a little bit more happy. For the little things themselves are lovely – but they also extend a grateful attitude – of *wanting* to make someone’s day more happy and more special.

The intention to connect with one another is as important as the act itself.

A young friend recently gifted me with cake sprinkles (a literal and figurative sweet gift!), stemming from our shared appreciation of fancy cupcakes. And she wrote upon it: “Keep sprinkling happiness in the world!” A great reminder that life is indeed much better with sprinkles.