An extract from Wise Traveller: Happiness

When I was young, the television always seemed full of stories of people who had made grand and amazing dreams come true. The man who had climbed Everest, the woman who had revolutionised nursing, the people who had abolished slavery. These people inspired me, but they also made me unhappy at times, for I didn't feel I had the ability to realise ambitions on the scale of my dreams.

But then, by chance, I discovered someone who had little dreams. Once again, I discovered her on television, and I was intrigued. She was called Thérèse Martin, and she was a French nun who died aged just 24. Her dreams were different; they were about doing the smallest things beautifully in love, simply because they were for God. She was inspired by Jesus of Nazareth who once told a story about people who hadn't realised that when they served each other, they were really serving a higher purpose.

Thérèse wrote a diary, and in it she talked about her little dreams and I saw that her ambitions were realisable. They were full of simple ambitions, like smiling and being extra-nice to the people who grated on her nerves!

Thérèse was refreshingly honest about the little difficulties she faced over simple things, like sharing her possessions. She also shared practical hints about the small ways in which she was able to help others; looking out for opportunities such as that presented by an elderly nun with arthritic hands who couldn't reach the bread at mealtimes. These were little acts of blessing, and yet they were achievable. Achievements that often went unnoticed yet which made the world a better place.

And now, although I occasionally still get distracted by big dreams, I notice the world right in front of me, and see that it is full of little, but important, things: chance encounters, tiny words, shy smiles, tangible needs. When I focus on responding to these little things, I'm filled with happiness as I see the world around me impacted in small, but wonderful ways.

Sue Wallace

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