What are your daily pleasures?
With life being as insane and all-demanding as it is, few of us take time to stop and “smell the roses”, as it were. What are you thankful for? What little things do you appreciate the most? What are you daily pleasures? (A spin-off idea inspired by Regina’s latest post.)
For me, the list looks something like this (in no particular order):
Doing nice things for others. I love to do nice things for others. Sometimes it’s going the extra mile, sometimes it’s doing a random act of kindness, and sometimes it’s doing something that everyone should, by default, be doing, but either way, I love to do nice things for people. I don’t even have to know them—they could be complete and utter strangers for all I care. It doesn’t matter.
My neighborhood. I love my neighborhood. It’s nothing special, just your average nice east side neighborhood, yet it has almost everything I need within walking distance - ice rink, track, gym, swimming pool, community center, public library, two grocery stores, two Chinese restaurants, a bakery, two Starbucks (though I don’t ever go there, it’s helpful when I want to meet up with someone there), several forests and parks, etc. I love it.
Walking my dog. Walking my dog around my neighborhood is among one of the most relaxing and enjoyable things ever. He likes it, I like it, we take almost the same route every time, but it’s delightful. Walking, running, or just about any other form of exercise (with the mp3 player, of course) is also a surefire “pick me up” - endorphins can definitely account for part of this daily pleasure.
Vancouver rain. Most people hate the rain. Growing up in a city where it rains 80% of the year, I’ve learned to love it. It’s refreshing. It brings keeps grass, trees, and plants alive and flourishing. When the city gets slick and grey from all the rain, it makes me want to sing and dance in the streets (singing in the rain, anyone?)… It’s underappreciated.
When someone thinks of me. It never ceases to warm my heart when someone remembers me. It’s often the smallest, most ordinary gestures (like all the Snark members who wished me a happy birthday, awww!), but I really do appreciate them.
For example, about a month ago, a friend thousands of miles away called me up… just to see how I was doing. It went something like this: “Hey Chanel, I was just thinking about you and decided to give you call - How are you?” I know that I often live my life assuming everyone has forgotten about me, but that short five minute call totally and utterly made my day - It’s the thought that really does count.
Being productive. I feel great when I get things done. It could be cleaning some part of the house, finishing off an essay, completing a task I’ve been avoiding for weeks, or something completely different; feeling accomplished, even in the smallest way, is a great feeling.
Tracking my progress. It’s a regular thing: I check my marks, my stats, my volume, my downline, my savings account - tracking my progress and growth in every area of my life is another thing I love to do. It gives me a snapshot of where I am in the big picture (’the big picture’ = where I hope to be) - not even close? 50%? 75%? complete?
Embracing my femininity. I like to wear dresses, skirts and heels. I watch cheesy chick flicks (my favorite kind of movies, actually) and read girly novels. I enjoy baking, cleaning, cooking, being “motherly”, and all those stereotypical “women jobs” that angry feminists are against. I inherited the “housewife gene” (probably from my grandmother), and enjoy putting it to good use on a regular basis.
Listening to quality music. I adore classical music. Luckily for me, I’m fortunate enough to have parents that own a large collection of classical records. My favorite set of records are those from the Band era (the 1920s to 1940s) … Just listening to them while I read, clean, or study is so relaxing.
What are your daily pleasures?
Oh there are so many!
Listening to music, definitely. If silence is golden, me singing at the top of my lungs and dancing is definitely a metal of unmeasurable value. I love skirts, especially ones that flow when I’m dancing in the street. I love daydreaming on the bus, making plans, thinking about my friends. I make lists all the time! It calms me down to sit and write a list of… pretty much anything! I love sorting through tonnes of spam to discover an email from someone I’ve been missing, and I love reading my old blog posts from high school. Oh, and I love speaking in French to my family, because they don’t understand, and they get frustrated.
Those are just a few things off the top of my head!
November 18th, 2007 at 8:40 pmI just love the feeling of running outside. Something about the wind blowing in my face and having the sun warm me just makes everything better. Also, I love the feeling of winning a debate. My friends and I almost always have something to debate about, and it just feels great when you win. The feeling of playing a musical instrument is also another one of my daily pleasures. It makes you warm and fuzzy inside when you pick up an instrument and just play it. You think, ‘Hey, that sounds pretty good.’
I also get a strange kick from people talking about me, whether it be good or bad. The fact that they’re actually taking the time to talk about you just gives me a warm feeling inside. :)
November 18th, 2007 at 9:24 pmYou have such a beautiful life Chanel! It sounds so… dream-life-ish. What you have now is probably how I want to be in the future. I especially love embracing my femininity and I’d love to just be a simple housewife with a law degree. :P And then I’d get to sit at home on a comfy couch, reading a book by the window and listen to nice music…
By the way, your RSS feeds don’t work. :(
November 18th, 2007 at 9:35 pmHelping others and being polite make me feel good :3 But embrassing my feminine side? I just equate all those activities with chores…
I love making people laugh, or at least smile :)
November 18th, 2007 at 9:52 pmYou know, I love reading your blog because you have such an enthusiasm for life (or so it seems!). There’s nothing wrong with embracing your feminine side either! So many people seem to be against it these days, as if there is something wrong with it. (Daily pleasure: sewing something that is broken. I get such a feeling of achievement and have to run and show my mother — who is inevitably unimpressed.)
November 19th, 2007 at 12:58 amI like hugging my mom. I try to hug her daily because I don’t say “I love you” as often anymore. I don’t know, but I’ve been hugging her way too much lately :P
I also take time to look at trees and stuff whenever I walk from my school to the bus stop. It’s something that is very relaxing and calming.
Reply: Oh, I do that too! I love hugs. :P
November 19th, 2007 at 4:11 amWow. You have more fun then I do. I are officially jealous. LOL
I dropped by from a css gallery and wanted to tell you that you have an awesome design. :) Great job!
November 19th, 2007 at 12:45 pmHey pretty lady, I would like to know more about you. TAG! http://aisling-b.net/2007/11/19/tagyourit/
November 19th, 2007 at 7:25 pm