I’m so glad you’re here.
I say that because I’m inviting you to use this blog post to tell me (and others who are reading this post) about what is delighting you.
The invitation is extended with a few ideas in mind:
- to enter into a space created for conversation and connection
- to counter the weight of uncertainty and instability so many are feeling
- to read and write about delight, because doing so opens a door to nourishment and reciprocity
For me, noticing and documenting delights has been, and is, a lifeline – a relationship with the sacred, a connection to gratitude, a way to come home to self.
I could write a long list of delights from both the more-than-human world and the human world. Here are a few:
Finding a gathering of small oak seedlings (acorns being acorns)
Choosing a wet trail and walking through puddles and rivulets in flowered yellow boots
Baking a surprise gift and sending it across the country
So now … would you tell me (and others) what delight looks like for you right now?
Delight to me is usually very simple and inspiring, waking from a dream about someone you hadn’t thought about in years and something they said back then that now makes sense.
Isn’t it just the way it works. Like a visit with the past. Lovely post.
Delight is finally getting the nerve to ask for something and getting it easily, in fact they enjoyed giving. That’s sheer luxurious delight
I’ve certainly experienced delight in the giving, Peggy!
Yes, it certainly is. So often we may feel asking will bring rejection. Giving is so gratifying when we know it brings joy. Love your words.
To me, delight is an act of healing – it’s a moment to rewire my nervous system and recognize that the beauty, the fun, the joyful, the profane, the hilarious – are enough in this moment. They are a gift that can change my mood, my energy, my focus.
Thank you, Amy, for describing this power of delight.
Delight feeds the soul! Wonderful post.
Looking out of the window and seeing evergreen trees who invite me to walk with them is a gift I am focused on among the many my home in the rolling hills provides me. My “Country Road leads me home”!
I’m imagining that walks among those trees are also full of delight.
I live on the prairies. For a while I moved to a different province, and oh my, you really do yearn for where “home” is.
Oh, the many meanings of home. Where one currently lives versus the home of one’s heart, to name but two meanings.
Delight is walking over to the Swamp Azalea blooming in my yard right now and inhaling its indescribably delicious cinnamon-y scent.
If I meet any Swamp Azaleas on my wanderings, I’ll be sure to inhale deeply.
This morning, I made sure to smell False Solomon Seal (softly sweet) and Zizia (mildly pepper – and without any sneezing).
Delight is
~when you laugh and you hear your own laughter and you realize that it’s been months since you really laughed.
~when you rejoice because laughing means you’re finally climbing out of depression.
~being able to notice the little things and give thanks.
It sounds to me, Karen, like noticing this laugh was no a little thing! Thank you for enabling me to share in your delight.
I hope you keep on laughing and finding light. Small joys bring much to the soul.
Delight, to the person that I am, is standing in a moment performing an activity which brings me joy. This comes in both large and small measures. Each day brings new bursts which I accept gladly.
This morning it looks like a pot of fresh rhubarb, the first pick of the season, bubbling away on the stove moving toward cups of fresh sticky jam.
This afternoon it is the pile of raw fleece scoured yesterday, spread out on a brazenly pink flowered sheet drying for the night, waiting for my attention. My anticipated joy in handling the lovely creamy white fluff to prepare it for spinning is almost immeasurable.
Today is a great day!
Thanks for these rich descriptions, Christine. I can hear the jam bubbling and am anticipating the feel of the clean fleece with you.
I recently had the pleasure of holding a lamb and watching several frolic.
Love this question & conversation – thank you for offering / hosting both. Considering it helped me take stock of the simple way everyday delights are woven through my days no matter the chaos in the world (or in my life, for that matter).
Right now, I’m delighting in:
the growing sights, sounds & smells of spring, including much more & varied birdsong; the smell of blooming lilac & fresh cut grass; the change in the quality (& duration) of light; the explosion of green everywhere.
the smell (& feel) of fresh linens (& a solid, unbroken night’s sleep – doesn’t happen as often as it used to!)
fresh baked bread made by my own hand
spending time with my daughter & SIL, especially after preparing one of their favourite meals (anticipation of their enjoyment is a gift)
running weekly errands with my oldest & dearest friend, catching up / deepening our connection as we go
my cat Finnegan’s trills, squeaks & meows when he talks to me; watching him burst into spontaneous play or his ready stillness while he watches the birds perched on my balcony railing; his gentle paw pats when he asks to lie in my arms; waking at night to find him coming to sleep on my chest & nestle his head under my chin
following a question, a nudge, a wondering, an intuition, a sparkle of words, an urge to try, the call of the divine
hearing the depth of a person’s heart; their soft awe when they see themselves & their lives more truly; their excitement at a new discovery of self; their stunned wonder when seeing & connecting dots that rewrite their life’s story more accurately & change their experience of self (past, present & future); that help them become more of the gift to life they already are, and experience that becoming for themselves – that I am trusted (& privileged) so humbles & delights me
the moon as she rises or sets or punctuates the sky somewhere in between / a clear night’s sky when I’m able to see her / it
the deep quiet of the world in the middle of the night
doing the work I was born to do
You are so welcome, Lissa. Thank you for sharing so many of the delights woven into your everyday life. I can relate to so many of them. “Doing the work I was born to do” made my heart sing, as did “hearing the depth of a person’s heart.”
The delight of “following a question, a nudge, a wondering, an intuition, a sparkle of words, an urge to try, the call of the divine” played out for me in physical form yesterday when we explored a new-to-us trail and enjoyed a 3-mile tug of “where does this go?”
Love, love, love your enjoyment of a yesterday’s 3-mile tug of “where does this go?”
I felt my shoulders drop and my chest expand when I read this, Lissa:
“following a question, a nudge, a wondering, an intuition, a sparkle of words, an urge to try, the call of the divine”
Thank you!
Oh, Adel… I’m so so glad those words met you that way.
Merry Meet, right now delight is finally feeling somewhat better after 2 months of pneumonia. I am looking forward to being out in the woods and playing/collaborating with Stones and found objects in a woodland landscape .I am also finding delight in a new book called John and Paul, (Beatles) which is an unfolding of their story woven around the songs they created together and with George and Ringo as able accomplices. I still have a great affinity and warm associations with their music and find it quite relevant and helpful in this troubled time. Gratitude is the Attidude
Books, woods, stones and music.
How beautiful is that?!
May they continue to bring you delight as you walk your path in these layers of difficult times.
Adel, Thanks for that affirmation . There’s other things that could go on the list but those were/are the most upfront at this particular time . Be Well
‘…playing/collaborating with…’ Love this mash-up. Anytime the word collaboration’s in the mix, my heart does a little bunny-hop. To see it mashed-up with play has my heart bunny-hopping double-time. Thank you.
Lissa, Yes… I realized after a bit that what I do with the Stones is not all me . I understood that we were working/ collaborating to bring about these particular arrangements that come into existence by that set of actions . It’s All in the Doing ! 23 Skidoo
I love that you brought books and music into the conversation. And you have me remembering the summer my sister played a Beatles cassette (remember those?) on repeat.
Marilyn, so yeah , of course there are many things that can bring delight, those were the most present at this time . I’m sure I will check in and add to the list . I did catch the Live simulcast of the Barber of Seville opera from the Met yesterday at Cinemark in Hadley . Wonderful !! I will avail myself of this in the coming 25-26 season . Rooty Kazooty !
Delight for me is reading all the entries people have shared so far. A beautiful response.
A personal delight is smelling newly blossomed Elderberry flowers which I picked and put in a vase this morning.
I, too, have experienced so much delight in what people have shared.
The Red Elderberry flowers have already faded here and the Black Elderberry ones have yet to bloom. When they do, I’ll be sure to smell them. Thanks for the nudge, Judy.
Butterflies landing on flowers and hummingbirds feeding from flowers
Being present when newborn lambs take their first steps and later, when they learn to run and bounce
Standing at the end of the rushing creek bordering our pastures, after a rain storm, smelling the fragrance of wet cedar branches, seeing water droplets suspended from the tips of branches
Homemade vanilla icecream
Rich deep conversations with cherished friends and clients
A clean and tidy house, sparkling with having received loving attention
Eating freshly picked veg from the garden
The feel and smell of sun-dried clean sheets on the bed
The sounds of waves lapping at a beach with shorebirds calling
Almost anything chocolate
The lush feel of rich natural fiber fabrics
Hearing singers sing with all of their being and feeling that soul’s expression touch and move through me
Thank you for this conversation, Marilyn. It feels like a tonic in times when delight can be easily overlooked, as in the noise of life today. I am finding delight in all the thoughtful responses to your question and how they prompt me to realize even more delight in my daily life.
Thank you, Lyn, for being part of the conversation. I, too, have found delight in the responses and been prompted to consider more forms or sources of delight – and have a list of flowers to smell!
Yes, yes, yes and more yeses.
Milk or dark chocolate?
Semi-sweet chocolate chips is my daily dose 😉
A quiet delight from a few days ago …
All day the entire sky was pearled by full, high cloud cover. The color of the moon. At dusk, I glanced out a west-facing window to see the sky had turned petal pink. Astonishing. No gradients. No hint of another color. I felt that soft-pink sky tenderly wrapping me — generously wrapping me — to and with this earth.
Was that moment a promise, a prayer, a poem?
All of the above.
Oh, to be wrapped in a petal-pink sky, in a promise, in a prayer and in a poem.
Delight renewed with the arrival of a new day. Reading and rereading comments from yesterday and soaking in the wonderful depth of words, phrases and thoughts shared. And then, as I sit out in the glorious morning to enjoy, I feel as though I am being observed., and so I am!
A young robin has taken up space in the top corner of our pergola and is sitting on a nest! Obviously she built here undetected, thinking that she has found her perfect home. Partially concealed by the old vines from last year’s honeysuckle, she sits among the new green leaves of this year’s offering. One eye intently tracking my movements and the other on lookout for a possible next meal she looks content to remain and trust that all will be well.
Another good day!
ps: dark chocolate
I feel deeply nourished by the comments and will be rereading them too.
May all remain well for your nesting robin.
I agree – dark chocolate.
Being in the company of folks & their delights is such a tonic! Thank you, everyone.
A big thank-you from me too!
Delight means a lot of things to me, but more than anything, it’s being around someone who inspires me and helps me see who I really am and what my place is in the world. These people have often been through unimaginable challenges, but instead of giving in/giving up, they come out even stronger. It is these people that give us hope, especially in times of despair.
Oh, to feel seen by yourself and by others is so powerful.
Watching a hungry bird drop down from the sky to eat …because years ago I planted a small, bare, root.
Oh, Sarah, I’m so moved by this. Your planning and planting bearing fruit. Thank you.