Life’s Simple Pleasures – Simple Things to Bring You Joy

Inspired by Leo Babauta’s “zenhabits”, I’ve created the following list of what I consider to be some of life’s greatest simple pleasures:

• Sitting at Dunkin Donuts drinking coffee, eating a donut, and filling out a sudoku puzzle

• Fresh strawberries

• Taking a warm bath with lavender-smelling bubble bath

• Having someone massage my feet

• Watching my two beautiful nephews playing together (the older one is 3 years old and the baby is 10 months old)

• Relaxing in a hammock

• Lying down on the sand at the beach, right where the waves stop before rolling back

• A basket full of clean laundry

• A bike ride along the Amador Causeway (thin strip of land in Panama City that connects the mainland to three islands)

• A bouquet of pencils (from “You’ve Got Mail” with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks); a fresh ream of white paper

• Quiet time with a good book, specially by Tom Robbins or Erica Jong

• The moment right before falling asleep

• Ice-cold lemonade

• Reading the Sunday funnies

• Spending time browsing through a book store

• Reading a Calvin & Hobbes comic strip

• Watering my plants

• Taking a nap in the sun

• Watching a gorgeous sunset

• Putting on a pair of soft pajamas

• The smell of Estee Lauder’s “White Linen”; putting some of the scented body powder between my bedsheets

• Laughing so hard with a friend that you can hardly catch your breath

• When my baby nephew stretches out his arms because he wants me to carry him

• Doing a jigaw puzzle (as long as it doesn’t have too many pieces)

• Eating a bowl of Rocky Road ice cream, and feeling absolutely no guilt

• Taking off sweaty clothes after a long run and taking a cold shower

• Sitting on the couch with some eggnog and watching the lit-up Christmas tree in the dark listening to Christmas carols

• Listening to really loud opera music

• Watching “I Love Lucy” or “The Andy Griffith Show” reruns

• Blowing bubbles

• Watching a really funny YouTube video

• Lying on my couch with the windows open , listening to my wind chime

• Finding money I had completely forgotten about in my jeans

• Creating a gift basket for a loved one with his/her favorite things

• Eating warm, flaky croissants and drinking cappuccino from my favorite mug

• Catching fireflies (and then letting them go)

• Reading an Agatha Christie mystery

• Listening to rain battering the windows

• Going on a nature hike

• Swinging in a swing

• Coloring with my 5-year old niece

• Singing in the shower at the top of my lungs—completely off key—not caring whether my neighbors can hear me

• Watching a movie where the good guy wins in the end, having overcome seemingly insurmountable difficulties

• Driving along with the windows down blasting my favorite music (when the traffic is really light)

• Watching “Pinky and the Brain”

• A vase filled with fresh flowers

• Having a cat fall asleep on my lap

• Anything involving whipped cream

• Winning something in a raffle

• Watching ducks swimming in a pond, specially baby ducks

• Getting in bed when it’s cold and creating a warm nest with several blankets

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(Photo I *heart* cappuccinos courtesy of ruben i).

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