I haven’t done a simple pleasure in awhile… and I have to admit that I kind of forgot about them. Until… until I changed my bed sheets and with such excitement, crawled into bed at 2 in the afternoon just so I could experience the fresh smell and feeling of clean sheets. I didn’t want to have to wait till I went to bed. In laying there I realized how much joy I was experiencing by just feeling the clean sheets around me. I quickly remembered that “clean sheets” were one of my simple pleasures. And so now I write…
We forget sometimes the little things that bring us joy and make life great. We get wrapped up in work, money, kids, boyfriends, girlfriends, or whatever and forget to stop and smell the roses… or in my case… clean sheets. I was present that I had let those small things pass me by the last week or so and reset my intention to have attention on the small stuff… the simple stuff that brings me joy. And all it really takes is being present – which I believe is another simple pleasure of mine. In being present in any given moment we can stop to feel the sun on our face, smell fresh flowers or embrace a friends hug… I know you get what I’m saying so I’m not going to get into it.
I will leave you with a quote from a book I’m currently reading called “Broken Open” by Elizabeth Lesser. I feel it fits the topic of simple pleasures…
“Rapture in not a selfish emotion. It is pure gratitude, flowing freely through the body, heart, and soul. Gratitude for what? For breath, for colors, for music, for friendship, humor, weather, sleep, awareness. It is a willing engagement with the whole messy miracle of life.”
Excellent writing