For several years, I’ve been practicing whatI call The Delight of the Day. Each day I watch for moments that inspire a strong feeling of gratitude and joy within me. I mentally label the strongest such moment The Delight of the Day. The practice encourages what psychologists call “positive scanning.” I’m waiting for good things to happen and, when they do, I notice and celebrate them.
Listing the good moments is a nice practice. Digging deep into what makes them good, contemplating the goodness and sharing it makes the practice better.
Here are my Delights for this week:
This blog post!
After two weeks off, I have a new appreciation for the value of my Delights of the Day for the Week. I’ve consciously noticed Delights of the Day for the last few years, but I didn’t write them down at first. Writing them down required me to stop cheating – I really did need to find a delight each day. Blogging them with a couple sentences of description is even more helpful. I get to relive the moment of delight and add some why-was-that-so-cool analysis. More parts of the brain involved= more joy! My Delight for today is returning to blogging delights.
Do you keep a gratitude or delight journal? How can you deepen your appreciation? [Include photos? Tape objects onto the page? Record sounds? ]
Getting my new eyeglasses. I had a choice between the “safe” frames or the “fun” frames. I chose fun!
Spending most of the weekend lost in a mystery novel. I love making a trip into another reality and leaving mine behind.
Participating in a guided meditation on winter from Jamie Ridler. Winter is not my favorite season. This meditation reminded me of its gifts.
Returning to painting after a holiday break. I love playing with form, color and motion.
Learning how to use some Photoshop filters in a new way. Learning a new skill is fun in the moment and gives me new ways to play in the future.
starting to work on my Big Project. Even though that particular work session didn’t go well, it’s great to be starting.
May you find delight in each day.
