On the cold, salt-stained pavement of the Walmart parking lot, today, there were four tiny finches. They were hopping and twittering merrily as they ate the remains of a frozen and crushed french fry.

I couldn’t help but watch them a moment.

They seemed so happy.
Very alive.
Animated, loud, and grateful for the salty, carbohydrate treat they found and shared.

Full of “finchness.”

If only we could experience an ounce of this kind of real joy!

To eat a supper with our spouse in silence, just together.
To go on a walk, looking around, absorbing all the world in our sights.
To wake up and feel the sheets weaving between our limbs.

And to simply feel joy for the now of them.

Instead, we try to poison our many nows with endless music, the television, or even (sometimes) educational content like podcasts.

Some moments are best spent enjoying in themselves.

Follow for daily philosophical meditations.

These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”