The Simple Pleasures

Does it come as a surprise that many of the most enjoyable things are what are done mindlessly and without deliberation?  As I learned a few summers ago, small things, such as throwing a roll of celetape around the room and catching it can lighten the heart and brighten the smile, especially when one is in a period of stress and confusion.  In fact, when you have alot of work to do, some messing around can actually make you more productive.  I find, personally, that I get down to things better once I have have done something useless for a while.  So what are the simple pleasures, the ‘pointless’ things, shall we call them, that take our mind off our concerns and help us to become more creative in our lives?  I have tried to come up with some of the methods I utilise below:

• Having mentioned the ‘throwing and catching a cellotape roll’ method, one can substitute the cellotape for any other small household item
• Playing a movie, putting the radio on, or some lighthearted music (not the intense kind), this helps me to do the housework – clean the room and put things away
• meditating
• having a laugh with friends, and spending time with them in conversation
• singing
• dancing
• doing anything different, and preferably irrelavant to what is on your mind
• playing with your pet cat/other animal
• playing with yours – or anyone elses – children
• doing something spontaneous and unplanned

A suggestion of 75 simple pleasures from the website zenhabits.net gives us some other suggestions, for example:

• walking barefoot on the grass
• taking a long relaxing shower
• watching the sunrise (or set)
• walking on the beach
• running/stretching/exercising
• helping someone in need – I like this one
• making someone smile
• taking a nature hike
• laying back and watching the stars
• watching the moon
• playing footsie
• blowing bubbles
• writing on good paper with a good pen
• having a picnic
• swimming at night
• swinging on a swing
• watching animals in nature

There are many other ’simple pleasures’ that one might enjoy, not mentioned here.  Being creative, you could formulate some of your own.

Lastly, these lighthearted enjoyments are not meant to be so made use of that work does not get done, jobs are not fulfilled, and everyone has fun throwing cellotape around the room while bills pile high.  Actually they are best done briefly and when taking a break during the working day.  Ironically, such lttle things loose their pleasure and enjoyment when done too much and when they begin to distract one, in a bigger way, from their daily commitments.  So as they say (whoever ‘they’ happen to be), strike a work life balance and make sure you take some breaks from the working day to make yourself more productive, creative and alive by utilising some of the simple pleasures.