I've been thinking about pleasure lately, for a number of reasons.
I suspect that the more we think about pleasure -- the more we notice it -- the more we experience.
So, I want to try a brief experiment here. I want to see whether I can list thirty things -- thirty pleasures -- that I have experienced today. Just today.
Can I do it? Let's find out!
1. While driving, I saw a beautiful blue sky with soft, puffy white clouds.
2. When I dropped my daughter off at school this morning, she gave me her usual goodbye: a gentle head butt, forehead to forehead. Not a kiss, because she doesn't want to smear her lipstick on my face. The head butt is somehow sweeter and more intimate than a quick kiss would be.
3. I am wearing a lovely light silver satin top...
4. ...and a long black velvet skirt that feels soft and plush.
5. I made a quiche for dinner tonight, and there were so many wonderful aspects of this, including the thunk of the knife going through the onion...
6. ...the lingering scent of onion on my hands...
7. ...the softening and glistening of the onions as they were sauteed in butter...
8. ...the smell of bacon frying...
9. ...the taste of the goat cheese crumbles, smooth and creamy and flavored with onion and basil.
10. The sound of classical music on the radio, strings and winds and rippling piano.
11. The light, sweet, bouncy, energetic sound of the Broadway musical my daughter and I listened to while driving.
12. Singing!
13. The luxury of a midmorning nap.
14. Being playful and making my family laugh.
15. The glide of my pen across the pages of my journal.
...Halfway there!
16. The vanilla-peppermint fragrance of a candle in a store.
17. The lemony minty taste of the water I drank.
18. The loving look a certain someone gave me.
19. The relief of waking up from an upsetting dream, and realizing that it was a dream.
20. The amazingly lovely feeling of stretching in the morning.
21. The purring cat curled up in my lap.
22. The color orange.
23. The feel and fragrance of my favorite soap...
24. ...and how soft my hands felt after using it.
25. The pattern on the cover of my journal...
26. ...especially the pink bird.
27. Back to that quiche: the realization of how much I enjoy cooking now, how satisfying and relaxing it has become.
28. The relief of shifting from an uncomfortable position to a more comfortable one.
29. Waking up early enough to not have to get out of bed right away.
30. Getting to number 30.
How about you? What pleasures have you experienced today?
I suspect that the more we think about pleasure -- the more we notice it -- the more we experience.
So, I want to try a brief experiment here. I want to see whether I can list thirty things -- thirty pleasures -- that I have experienced today. Just today.
Can I do it? Let's find out!
1. While driving, I saw a beautiful blue sky with soft, puffy white clouds.
2. When I dropped my daughter off at school this morning, she gave me her usual goodbye: a gentle head butt, forehead to forehead. Not a kiss, because she doesn't want to smear her lipstick on my face. The head butt is somehow sweeter and more intimate than a quick kiss would be.
3. I am wearing a lovely light silver satin top...
4. ...and a long black velvet skirt that feels soft and plush.
5. I made a quiche for dinner tonight, and there were so many wonderful aspects of this, including the thunk of the knife going through the onion...
6. ...the lingering scent of onion on my hands...
7. ...the softening and glistening of the onions as they were sauteed in butter...
8. ...the smell of bacon frying...
9. ...the taste of the goat cheese crumbles, smooth and creamy and flavored with onion and basil.
10. The sound of classical music on the radio, strings and winds and rippling piano.
11. The light, sweet, bouncy, energetic sound of the Broadway musical my daughter and I listened to while driving.
12. Singing!
13. The luxury of a midmorning nap.
14. Being playful and making my family laugh.
15. The glide of my pen across the pages of my journal.
...Halfway there!
16. The vanilla-peppermint fragrance of a candle in a store.
17. The lemony minty taste of the water I drank.
18. The loving look a certain someone gave me.
19. The relief of waking up from an upsetting dream, and realizing that it was a dream.
20. The amazingly lovely feeling of stretching in the morning.
21. The purring cat curled up in my lap.
22. The color orange.
23. The feel and fragrance of my favorite soap...
24. ...and how soft my hands felt after using it.
25. The pattern on the cover of my journal...
26. ...especially the pink bird.
27. Back to that quiche: the realization of how much I enjoy cooking now, how satisfying and relaxing it has become.
28. The relief of shifting from an uncomfortable position to a more comfortable one.
29. Waking up early enough to not have to get out of bed right away.
30. Getting to number 30.
How about you? What pleasures have you experienced today?
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