If you have ever walked through New York’s Penn Station during rush hour, you would know to walk fast and watch where you are going.  Every day an estimated 500,000 people travel under its roof to reach their destination.  I have been traveling through Penn for over twenty years.  This particular day was no different from any other.  I headed home from work determined as I always am to catch my train.  As I slid my metro card and pushed through the turnstile, I couldn’t help but notice a penny shining brightly on the floor.  It just stood out against the dark ground.  As countless people continued to step past it, one hand was carefully reaching down to pick it up trying not get stepped on by all the running feet.  It was the hand of an old man carrying what looked like everything he owned in one bag.  This whole scene was happening quickly.  People rushing.  The old man trying to bend low enough to reach the penny. My heart broke.  I knew I had a few dollars in my bag and I thought to give them to him.  But in the instant I turned away, he was gone.  And so was the penny.  I looked right and left but didn’t see him.  He left an imprint on my mind. The picture of an old man – poor – struggling to reach down far enough to pick up a penny.  The same one hundreds probably did not notice was there.

Friends,  I thought about how the small things in life often don’t seem important enough to win our attention to notice them.  Be it a shiny penny or the wind gently blowing the leaves on the trees.  Lets take the time to notice and appreciate these things-when we do – they reward us with much happiness. In return, they give us a sense of appreciation for all that we have.  It is usually the small things, the simple things that make us the happiest.