Beech Tree News Network

Sometimes in the middle of a problem, one of life’s little pleasures helps me to realize “this too shall pass.” For example, turning on the fireplace during a chilly evening or allowing myself to wake without setting an alarm makes me feel better – a little pleasure. The simple things can offer us a little breathing space.

On Marelisa Fabrega’s website, an article called “75 Simple Pleasures – Enjoy the Little Things”
(http://daringtolivefully.com/simple-pleasures) included some down-to-earth pleasures. Some of those pleasures were:
•    Make banana splits.
•    Slip into your favorite sweat pants and t-shirt.
•    Enjoy the smell and feel of clean sheets.
•    Pick some wildflowers for your table.
•    Take a nap in the middle of the afternoon.
I would enjoy each one of these activities – and many of the others listed in the article!

Friends and family shared their thoughts about simple pleasures:
•    Definitely taking a nap and quiet time these days.
•    Being with my wife with a puppy dog in my lap.
•    Going for a run by the ocean.
•    Enjoying a good book or movie.
•    My vehicle/motorcycles being spotless. I take pride in that.
•    I love and enjoy a lighted candle or my old timey lamp. There is something calming about a flame – tied to memories of when I went to my grandmother’s house. She had lamps everywhere, no electricity. The open fireplace I stood in front of in the house I grew up in – warm one side and freeze on the other. Those memories are reflected in the flame … and more.
•    Clean sheets, warm towels, fresh flowers in the house, a pretty day, a bright/full moon, and listening to my daughter play when she thinks no one is around.
•    Going to bed with my house completely clean! It makes me feel so relaxed and stress free! Also, sleeping in newly washed sheets!
•    Family dinners.
•    Naps are my favorites! And, clean sheets on my bed!
•    A phone call or visit from our children and/or grandchildren.
•    Fresh, clean sheets paired with just-shaved legs. My husband’s laughter.
•    Definitely homemade meals and naps! And, getting days off!
•    Naps, clean house, reading a book, and going to church.
•    Finding money, someone letting me out in traffic, taking a nap, and sunshine.
•    Sitting on a beach listening to waves roll in; walking through dry leaves on a fall day and hearing them crunch underfoot; splashing in the pool with grandkids; eating warm Krispy Kreme donuts and reading a good book while in an empty house.
•    The wind on my body as bike and body balance in the ride…while the road tops out at a mountain overlook and I throttle down for a look. In short, the ride.
•    My willow tree that I can see from my kitchen window. I call it my therapy tree.

Life’s little pleasures make us feel much better and usually cost little. Henry David Thoreau said, “That man is rich whose pleasures are the cheapest” (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/pleasures_3.html#oxbShluklbuL...). Simple pleasures help us deal with day-to-day pressures and find happiness in the moment – a gift. So, maybe I’ll treat myself to an afternoon of reading and napping.