Turns out, it’s far easier for me to focus on finding pleasure in everyday things than it is to take the shoulds out of my life or to follow through on the 6 word days game.
I easily found the pleasure in my Friday night’s massage, immense pleasure in the goose bump inducing warmth of the sauna at my gym, and I especially enjoyed the flowers I ordered for myself from The Bouqs Company. Every time I inhale the fragrance from the roses, I’m instantly happier. Nothing says ‘It’s almost Spring’ than a beautiful floral arrangement delivered to one’s home.
I learned how to work my new-to-me camera via Curious dot com and enjoyed every minute of it even when the speaker went far over my head. Why is it that learning something new can make someone feel so alive? When I needed a break from learning about cameras, I stayed on the site and learned about really interesting psychology studies. Human behavior has always been of interest to me. I also listened to how to make my own deodorant and body wash. Not sure I’ll ever do it for real but now I know how!
Instead of leaving the girls to their own cooking while their dad was out of town, I instead made a somewhat complicated, multi-step recipe that they loved. Although it was nice getting so many kudos, the pleasure came from following-through on my homework and doing something unexpected. The girls were much happier to have a nice Sunday dinner where they were no longer on the hook for microwaving a tasteless frozen burrito.
Watching The Bachelor (yay, Lauren B.!) on Monday with my daughter was a great time and I remained attentive to her and to the final results. We talked about what Ben’s words really meant and dove deep into his psyche trying to figure out what he was thinking. Normally, I’m ashamed to say that I’m not nearly as present while watching TV so the time spent with my daughter was a real pleasure.
Walking the dog gave me the least amount of pleasure but I did have one good day when I took a different route and left the house while it was still light. Looking at all the different houses and the gardens provided a wonderful respite from the norm.
The dog walking provided the most insight into how to have pleasure daily. If a task is not feeling good to me (or you), is there a way to change it so that it feels good, or at least better?? Indeed, a simple change in my regular course made walking the dog at least a little better. Changing the timing of the walk also helped immensely. No longer walking around the neighborhood in the dark, I can actually see the flowers and people!
What did you find pleasure in this week? Were you able to find time to experience pleasure in exercising or solving a problem for a friend?
Judy Clement Wall’s e-guide this week suggests I celebrate my body. Every morning when I wake up and every evening right before bed, I’m to look in the mirror and celebrate my body. This is not a time to count wrinkles or notice large pores, but to be in awe of all that my body accomplishes on its own every single day. I never have to ask it to do anything, it simply does it. Can you imagine having an employee who works as hard, as long, and 24/7 like your body? This is a great argument for being grateful for all that your body is. Focus on the good stuff like a neck that cracks on command, a throat that swallows, and 9 fingers that type endless words (I don’t use all 10 to type, do you?)!!
Until next week, keep finding pleasure in all you do as much as you can, and praise your body day and night.
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Love that you asked yourself the question: “If a task is not feeling good to me (or you), is there a way to change it so that it feels good, or at least better?” because it’s definitely what I also noticed.
To me it feels so daunting having to go visit with two sets of family nearly every evening after work and shop for them, etc. that I need to be really careful and re-frame how I think about it. I also started adding some extra “work” into the mix, so that we’re at least getting more stuff done at the same time, which makes me feel that I achieved more in the day instead of feeling rushed to take care of everything after we arrive home. Small things like doing the laundry there while visiting, or me going shopping while the boyfriend is at his grandma’s and joining him after that have really made a difference as I don’t need to spend another (at least) half an hour on these things when I know we could just get into bed and relax together.
Wow, you have a very busy day. I cannot imagine if I had to add MORE people into my schedule. I think there would never been any time just for me.
I’m glad you’ve learned how to get more done at the same time. That’s like training to be a mom 🙂 Moms are the queens of multitasking. Without doing 20 things at once, nothing would ever get done. I seriously don’t know how the women so long ago managed to do laundry on rocks and then go make a meal without the help of a microwave!
Anyway, thank you for your lovely comments and feedback, as usual, Estrella!