These moments usually fade into the background, too mundane to notice-until you really stop and think about them. And then, somehow, they feel bigger. They remind you that life isn’t always about the grand milestones or big-picture plans. Sometimes it’s just the way someone laughed at your joke, the happy baby you pass on the street, or the smell of your childhood home that makes everything feel whole. It’s in those tiny, quiet moments that life feels the most real. These are mine that I’ve noticed recently:

• Every morning since I left for college my mom texts me goodmorning. It’s the most predictable part of my day.

• When someone texts you that they were thinking of you after they did something you introduced to them.

• When someone’s favorite song comes up on your playlist.

• Extended eye contact.

• Catching someones smile when they try to hold it in

• Someones expression when you hold the door open for them (recently did this for a man and his expression now stays permanently in my mind, it made my day)

• An out of the blue text from someone thats been on your mind

• The smell of a perfume you wore when you had a significant event happen to you

• A dogs content sigh next to you

These moments make life feel steady and real. So much comfort lives in the little things and actions.