Ask the Life Coach

Dear Looking,

What a great idea! I commend you for wanting to add daily pleasures to your life. I have several, which I’ve shared below, but in an effort to give you a variety of examples to spark your creativity, I did a small poll among my friends. Here’s what I came up with.

• Pets bring small daily pleasures. Petting a bunny (from my daughter, who fosters rabbits), listening to my dog snore, seeing dogs at the park, having my cat sit with me in companionable silence while I do Wordle at the end of the day, snuggling with my cat.
• Food brings joy. A tablespoon of dark chocolate chips, eating any kind of chocolate, a glass of Prosecco or wine with dinner, shopping for food and preparing dinner (this is a rare pleasure), sipping an iced coffee at 10:00 AM, drinking organic orange juice from Costco, eating a piece of dried mango after dinner, cheese and crackers at 5:00 PM, a great cup of coffee while gazing outside in the morning.
• Hearing from children and grandchildren. My daily good morning and good night text from my granddaughter, texts from my sons, my little daughter kissing me good night, interacting with children in the library.
• Reading and games are popular. Reading a physical newspaper every morning that’s delivered to my door, reading The Morning (NY Times electronic newsletter) and doing the mini crossword, reading the next few chapters in a good book, having Alexa tell me a bedtime story, playing scrabble on my phone, several mentioned playing Wordle, discussing books at my book club.
• Nature is always nearby. Enjoying the feel of sunshine on my face, “taking in” and admiring my neighbors’ flowers, hearing the wind blow through the trees, checking my orchids to see new buds, tending to my numerous houseplants, walking around my yard.
• Personal care can be a chore but also a pleasure. Using a special (and expensive) shampoo and conditioner I love, getting a massage (twice a month), swimming, a long hot bath, walking while listening to a book, playing pickleball, riding a stationary bike while watching HGTV.
• Entertainment. Watching true crime documentaries, watching a segment of a cooking show while my husband does the dinner dishes, watching a movie on Saturday afternoon, playing Rummikub with my husband at the end of the day, listening to music, doing a mystery themed jigsaw puzzle on my phone (who knew?), lunch or dinner with friends, keeping up with Cardinals baseball.

I hope you can find something to relate to in these lists. Be sure to choose a real pleasure, not a “have to” to check your box called “daily pleasure.” The world is a magical place when you’re open to life’s little pleasures