Delights & likes
Swirling thoughts & synchronicity
So many swirling thoughts and synchronicities this past week. I’m noticing what I need here in the in-between.
Last week I shared thoughts about perspective and holding our feelings simultaneously, no matter how different. Joy and grief, for example. Tuesday morning on the way to and from work, I listened to a podcast featuring poet and essayist Ross Gay. I enjoyed Gay’s book of poetry Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude and his essays The Book of Delights. Both inspired me to cultivate more gratitude and delight. I highly recommend you check out Ross Gay, even just listening to an interview with him will inspire you.
In the podcast, Ten Percent Happier, Gay talked about how different things delight different people. He mentioned that hanging laundry out to dry is a delight to him. Me too, as it happens. The interviewer balked a bit at the labor intensity of that. And that’s not the point. For the interviewer, something else brings delight. That’s what he’ll notice, and where he’ll invest his time.
It reminded me of yet another book, Go Ahead & Like It by poet Jacqueline Suskind. It’s basically a scrapbook of the author’s lists of likes along with inspiration and prompts for readers to create their own lists. As the book blurb says: “…it presents a simple, dependable method to notice the good that’s all around us—even in a traffic jam or waiting in line—so we can inhabit our world more fully.”
Presence. Gratitude. Joy. Delight. We truly are “just standing on one little ball of dirt and spinning around one of the stars” (as I quoted Michael A Singer last week), and that’s hard sometimes. The constant changes. The inevitable grief and loss. And so we cultivate practices to intentionally connect with gratitude, with joy, AND with others.
At the same time, we’re each standing on this ball of dirt with our own unique perspectives, and isn’t that a beautiful thing? My likes and your likes may overlap sometimes, and often they will not. It’s okay. We can delight in each other’s delight even if we don’t share it.
A good clue to what delights you is to see what captures your attention. I’m not talking about the big events or trips or milestones that happen only occasionally. I’m talking about simple pleasures that give you daily delight. What do you read about or watch or do? Look at your camera roll. I see from a quick look at mine that butterflies and flowers delight me. And of course all the people I love!
Maybe make a list of “likes” off the top of your head. Maybe try to incorporate more of those little delights into your life. Here’s some that come to mind for me: Monarch butterflies, zinnias, sprawling houseplants, lavender, historical murder mysteries, and brightly-colored gel pens. Feel free to share some of your delights in the comments if you’d like.
Thanks for reading.
Gratefully,
Mary
P.S. Speaking of conflicting emotions, yesterday my siblings and I, with some of our spouses and children, finished clearing out and said goodbye to our childhood home. Our mom was there with us also, one last time, as she’s now settled into her apartment. So many memories. Bittersweet. We find delight in the memories and also in some of the things we carry with us from that place. Whether a chair or an ornament or a mixing bowl or a hammer or anything imbued with the essence (and love) of the people and the place. As I finish typing this up, I hear the soothing melody of wind chimes on this breezy autumn day. They hung outside the back door of my childhood home, and now they hang outside my home. I delight in hearing them!
Sky, sunrise, sunset, moonlight, rainbows, wide open spaces, laughter, loved ones, the whimsy of childhood, books and music!
Books! Libraries! Bookstores! Poetry! Hearts, birds, trees! Bicycles! The ocean! Barefeet! Blue sky! Big sky! White puffy clouds! Moutains! Lakes and rivers and ponds! Sunrise and sunset! Light and shadows! Umbrellas! The color orange! Smiles! Babies! Public art! Produce and Farmermer's Markets! Pillows! Candles! Silence! Incongruences! Dichotomies! Puzzles- jigsaw and word! Tea! Tea cups! Tea mugs! Crystals! Tarot Cards! Chewing gum! Postcards! Honeysuckle! Lilac! Neighbors! Strangers! Family! Friends! The smell of rain! The smell of fresh mown lawn! Photographs! And endless list.... it seems I could go on and on and on....