Things We Find Delightful: a collective (anonymous) list that was first written and published in 2012
I recently re-discovered this list from years ago.
It seems like a good time to share it again.
Suggestion: If you feel inclined, think about things that please you, that make you happy, that DELIGHT you. Create your own list, or write a poem, or draw a picture, or anything else ….
It is a good thing to remind ourselves of the simple pleasures of life.
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uni-ball Signo Micro 207, my new favorite pen
hearing my sister's laugh over the phone, from the other side of the country
giving away half the clothes in my closet
re-reading books, fresh the second time around, due to my not-so-sharp memory
morning yoga on Mondays and Fridays, with dear friends and an inspired teacher
crocheting many big beautiful colorful afghan blankets
veggie/fruit smoothies for breakfast each day; no two exactly alike
a new hairstyle
discovering my library card is valid until 2050
fishing off the Farmers' Market dock
the Yule Log on channel 501
snow ho ho
getting married
sitting down to meditate in a field and seeing a dear old auntie as soon as I closed my eyes
handing in my resignation to an astonished boss
scaling a rope wall with 100 other muddy women during an obstacle race to benefit breast cancer research
stopping during a run to splash water on my face in a stream and being greeted by 2 frogs under a rock
my 6-year-old son snuggled on my lap, reading me a book for the first time
listening to one amazing/powerful/funny/sad/magical story after another on the night that the angels visited Zee’s Writing Studio
watching the blue moon rise over the Atlantic Ocean and noticing it was kind of pink
going up a hill to look for a lost hammer, and instead encountering a woodpecker who was . . . hammering
stopping by the hillside yard of my grandmother, completely on a whim, just as a rainbow appeared ahead of a summer shower and reached out in front of my car
making good and unexpected connections with people through cyberspace
successfully defending my doctoral course work
finally getting a breast reduction when absolutely no one in my life supported my decision
any moments without pain
seeing a cross-dressing version of Midsummer Night’s Dream
70-year-old Judy Collins, knocking it out of the park
walking hand in hand with my 3-year-old granddaughter, to see the chickens at the end of the road, where she did her little chicken dance before we turned back to go home
hanging my art show, then standing back and seeing all that I've actually accomplished
writing a truly good sentence
digging in the dirt and finding perfectly round spider eggs, rusted metal bottle caps, and buried nuts the squirrels forgot
a big dish of black cherry ice cream
onions frying: a smell that delights me year after year
the arrival of boxes and bags of new plants and shrubs, waiting to be planted
rose-breasted grosbeaks and the indigo bunting pair, arriving five days earlier than usual
a friend from high school, who I hadn't need in years, knocking at my front door
gaining wisdom; gaining humility
a full year of health for my cats
almost winning the lottery (and planning how to spend the money we almost won)
buying all types of stationary supplies: pens, pencils, paper, 3-ring binders, etc.
finding a beautiful home to rent with great light and plenty of space
getting a great job after not having worked in a dozen years
the birth of a puppy, who will soon come to live with us
my son dressing himself in an all-velour outfit
kale, right from the garden
knee replacement a resounding success and my quality of life is vastly improved
my cat's incredible dexterity
marzipan
a crab molting before my eyes, somehow squeezing out through a thin slit in the back of her shell
a heavenly/tearful experience in the butterfly exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History
seeing the movie Harold and Maude for the first time
an island of puffins and a flock of elegant flamingos taking a bath in volcanic waters
witnessing the blooming of the stinky corpse plant, “titan arum,” (a once-every-fifteen-years event)
midnight sun in Iceland
laughing with friends, while riding an elephant
writing my dreams
stumbling upon a mountainside monastery in Seoul and getting invited to lunch with the monks
baby herons hatching
qigong on the beach at sunrise
standing up for what I truly believed was right
heating our house with wood for the first time ever and finding warmth never before experienced
dragonflies everywhere: on the side of my house, on the porch railings, on my arm, during one sunny day in autumn
learning how to make brioche
watching the walls go up on our new house
baby goats; spring peepers; white tail rabbits eating clover at the edge of the garden
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In 2012, 30 people contributed to this list — children, teenagers, adults. Right now (November, 2023) I say THANK YOU, once again, to them all.
