Establish a goal to celebrate life in some way, however small, every day. Below you will find a list of 50 simple joys to help remind you to slow down, celebrate life, and enjoy the moment!
1. Have afternoon tea “alfresco”. Find a small coffee shop with tables set up outside; or pack a picnic basket—filled with iced tea, chicken salad from the deli, scones, and a warm, crusty loaf of French bread–and head out to the park.
2. Go for a bike ride.
3. Plant pots of brightly colored flowers; you can choose to plant camellias, violets, and geraniums. For fragrant blossoms plant jasmines.
4. Adopt a child through Christian Children’s Fund or any organization that helps children in need and that you trust. Is there a better way to celebrate life than by lending a helping hand to a child?
5. Renew a relationship with someone you’ve lost touch with.
6. Create a collage of pictures of your loved ones, frame it, and hang it up in a visible spot in your home.
7. Blow bubbles.
8. Get a delicious, gooey brownie and savor every morsel.
9. Arranging beautiful flowers in a vase is a simple, exquisite pleasure.
10. Give someone you love a gift “just-because”. Better yet, make it a care package or a gift basket filled with their favorite things: flavored coffee, a great coffee mug, and the book they’ve been wanting to read; microwave popcorn and all of the “Indiana Jones” movies on DVD; their favorite scented bath products; and so on.
11. Get your picture taken by a professional photographer.
12. Create a butterfly garden in your yard by choosing butterfly-friendly plants.
13. Stretch out on your couch with a compendium of your favorite cartoon, read it through from beginning to end, and laugh until your stomach hurts.
14. Join a session of a “laughter yoga” club.
15. Whistle.
16. Learn to bake peach cobbler.
17. Eat berries fresh from the farmers’ market.
18. Hunt for bird nests. When you find one, don’t touch it, just look.
19. Start taking small steps to help the environment: car pool; recycle glass bottles; use pieces of scrap paper to write down your grocery list; change all of the light bulbs in your house to fluorescent light bulbs; and so on.
20. Make a donation: donate your time at a food shelter; invest in a third world country entrepreneur through www.kiva.com; donate blood; donate clothes you no longer use to a battered women’s shelter; donate children’s books to a hospital nearby; celebrate life by paying it forward.
21. Listen to Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”.
22. Sing in the shower.
23. Do something that gives you a sense of luxury. You can get a leather notebook to jot down your thoughts, or a beautiful fountain pen. Start collecting fanciful note cards so that you have them on hand when you want to send a hand-written “thank you”.
24. If you love reading, join a book club. Sharing your love of literature with others is a great way to celebrate life.
25. Watch the sunset.
26. Watch the sunrise.
27. Drink champagne for no reason at all.
28. Wear audacious underwear. Nobody has to know.
29. Buy a bird feeder—or even better, build one—and hang it in a place where you can see it often.
30. Go outside at night—or climb up to your building’s rooftop—and look at the stars.
31. Stop and really listen to a street musician.
32. Go to a pet shop and “ooh” and “aah” at the puppies and kittens.
33. Simmer apple cider, cinnamon, and cloves in water on your stove.
34. Play a game you loved as a child: play with marbles or jacks; jump rope; play hopscotch; draw with colored chalk on the sidewalk; get some Play-Doh; or go to a park and climb on the swings.
35. Whenever you take on a task at work ask yourself: “Is there any way to make this task more pleasurable?”
36. Write a love letter to your partner.
37. Enroll in a dance class–modern dancing, belly dancing, ball-room dancing, salsa dancing, etc.; you can go alone, go with a couple of friends you wish you could get together with more often, or go with your partner.
38. Sit down with a large art book filled with Impressionist paintings by artists such as Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Pisarro, Degas . . .
39. Find a shampoo and conditioner that smell like watermelon.
40. Walk barefoot in the grass.
41. Go out for a walk in the rain. Deliberately step in puddles.
42. Visit antique stores and flea markets until you find the perfect brass knocker for your front door, one that makes you smile every time you’re about to enter your home.
43. Buy the softest terry cloth robe you can find and put it in the drier just before taking a shower, so that it’s nice and warm when you get out of the shower and put it on.
44. Get a bright red umbrella.
45. Go out for a walk and take your camera along; take photographs of interesting faces.
46. Listen to jazz.
47. Eat your favorite cereal from when you were a child: Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cap’n Crunch, etc.
48. Listen to your favorite “Beatles” songs.
49. Count fireflies at dusk.
50. Throw open the windows and yell out at the top of your lungs: “thank you”!
“There are no little things. Little things are the hinges of the universe.” — Fannie Fern
How do you celebrate life every day?
(The “watercolor Haftsin . . . Happy Norouz” photograph is courtesy of my paintings).
Related Posts:
- 49 Gratitude Quotes and a Poem Of Thankfulness
- 114 Ways to Celebrate Life: Free Ebook
- 15 more Ways to Celebrate Life
- 29 Ways to Suck Out the Marrow of Life
- 65 Happiness Quotes
- Five Happiness Videos on YouTube
Recommended Products:
Learn to meditate, increase your focus and concentration, boost your creativity, and augment your brain power with the Silva Life System, the world’s most popular meditation program.
Visit the Silva Life System web site and get a free course on the basics of the Silva Life System, which includes their famous 30 minute guided meditation.
My ebook “How to Be More Creative – A Handbook for Alchemists” explains that creativity is not the sole domain of the arts but is important in any field, from medicine to business, and from engineering to developing a creative solution to a negotiation impasse. Whatever you do, creativity helps you do it better. Discover practical advice on how to be more creative in every life endeavor by reading my ebook.
Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe for free by RSS or e-mail and you’ll always know when I publish something new. (What’s RSS?).
Also, please share it on the social media site of your choice, thank you. 
{ 13 trackbacks }
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Marelisa,
#29-the bird feeder. I have one outside my office window. I often stop to watch the birds filling up their little tummies. It helps to take my mind off of the tasks at hand.
I also like to take in the smell of freshly cut grass. It’s such a nice scent.
Slowing down and enjoying life is a great daily goal. Thanks for the great reminder.
Sit cross legged with your kids and play duck duck goose. It’s a sure fire way to induce giggles all around!
I celebrate life by humming my favourite tunes, taking a walk in the woods, having a cuppa tea with family and so much more.
You list is really inspiring. I will save it and keep adding them to my list.
This is a great list and I’m a huge fan of stuff like this because it really doesn’t take much stuff to make us (ME) happy. Often time we overlook the “little” things in life. I think about No. 4 a lot, even looked into it..46 though would have to be my favorite. I love to listen to jazz when I clean or anytime…it’s nice to really listen to the music and the instruments.
Thanks!
@Barbara: Do you know what I really want to do? Go on a bird watching tour with the Audubon Society. Panama has one of the most diverse flora and fauna that there is–because of its location–and I want to start taking more advantage of that.
@Dr. Cason: I don’t have kids, but I do have two nephews and a niece. Pretty much anything that involves them is fun. Kids are the best at living in the moment.
@Avani: I think it’s a great idea to create “a master list” of simple joys and continually add to it.
@Natural: Listening to music is one of the best simple joys there is. Maybe you could write a post on the best jazz to listen to while you clean
“Get a delicious, gooey brownie and savor every morsel.” – I think this is my favorite.
What a great list!
I enter my kids’ room every night, when they are already asleep. I kiss them on the forehead and say a silent “thank you” for their existence, for their health, for their future.
Hi Vered: Today my little nephew–Diego–turns one year old. I’m going to my sister’s house at 5:00 p.m. to celebrate and eat cake. I can hardly wait!
This is a wonderful post.
Thank you!
Hi Sabina: I’m glad you liked it
Great list. Really good motivators for enjoying life.
Oh, and in regards to the question… One of the ways I celebrate life every day — is by making fresh tea in the morning and afternoon. For me, this is a true celebration.
Hi Bamboo: Having a tea drinking ritual is a great way to celebrate each day (like a tea ceremony).
Damn, that’s a lot of ways to celebrate!
For me, spending some time playing with my son every morning does the trick. I never work until I do this, even when a deadline is looming, because I know I am so much more productive and happy about the day when I live in the moment with Axl for a while and make him laugh.
And I can’t forget to rub my wife’s belly and say ‘good morning’ to the half-baked baby in there.
Joel Falconers last blog post..Advertising on Your Blog: Choosing Revenue Sources
@Bamboo: You made me remember my time with parents. Our entire family sits together the morning cup of tea. No matter how late we sleep, how tired we are, we make it a point to be there for tea. It’s like sacred family time.
Hi Joel, Kids are one of the best ways to celebrate life (I guess having kids is a reaffirmation that this is a good place to be, right?). Yesterday I went to my sister’s house to celebrate her second son’s first birthday. He got tons of gifts, but nothing could take his attention away from an orange balloon he somehow got lose from the table center piece. That was a lot of fun.
51. Have a Child
52. Have another child
53. One more child would be complete
54. Another child just to even things out
55. Ooops, I guess another one wouldn’t hurt beside the other ones are already grown.
LOL…Great list Mare.
chriss last blog post..Goodbye My Sweet Prince and Princesses
Hi Chris: That’s a lot of celebrating!
Marelisa, this is a fantastic list and a great reminder to live and not let life pass us by. So often we get caught up in the unimportant things and forget to really live. Thanks for these great suggestions!
Oh, and congrats on being chosen for the New Blog of the Week over at Barbara’s site. You’re doing a great job here!!
Oh, how do I celebrate life?
By cuddling with my husband.
By taking my dog for a walk out in the field and maybe to the creek.
Jennifers last blog post..What’s Holding You Back? Part 2…Moving Forward
Hi Jennifer: Thank you for your kind comments. There’s a creek near your house? How lucky!
Hi Marelisa,
Wonderful list!
Life is a festival,celebrate it!
Having a nice tea,playing with my son,going to park with my family for a walk,swimming with my child in the pool,singing to my son to sleep,Reading a self-help book,articles,poetry,novel,short-story,listening to jazz,writing a good blog post,calling your family,helping a kid for education,having a good workout,having a good prayer,doing meditation,watching a close finish game,list goes on and on.
Life is a boon from God,cherish every moment of it.
Celebrating life is so important in this competitive world.
Thanks for sharing.
Best Wishes,
Kannan Viswagandhi
http://www.growing-self.blogspot.com
Hi Kannan: It certainly looks like you’re enjoying life
I also enjoy working-out, going to the park with my little nephews, reading (almost anything), and meditating.
Great list. I remember being fascinated with fireflies when I was a kid. A friend who grew up in Tucson, Arizona told me she had never seen a firefly before moving to Arkansas about 10 years ago. I remember thinking how sad that was. Fireflies are right up there with fairies and hummingbirds.
Patricia – Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworkers last blog post..Shame, The Abuser’s Friend
Hi Patricia: I’m glad you liked the list. Hummingbirds . . . I’ll have to remember them the next time I make a list like this
Very Good. Life is for living and we must celebrate every moment we get. My Wife of 25 years has stage 4 breast cancer, life is made from time…..and there goes a second. Live your life now. Thanks for the list.
http://www.lynnlane.net/blogframe.html
Rodney Lynn Lane
Hi Rodney: I’m very sorry about your wife . . . “live your life now” is definitely one of the most important lessons that there is.
Hi Mare !
Very inspiring post. I wish i could celebrate life with so many options. Your post is inspiring me to search and celebrate my own list.
Hi Mustafa: I think we should all have our own personalized list of ways to celebrate life
Really makes me slow down and enjoy life.
One of my favorites was to take my 2 yr old son on a short walk and explore all that he discovers, the clump of grass from the freshly mowed lawn, rolly pollies, dirt in the crack of the sidewalk, bugs, butterflies, birds, flowering weeds… The world from his perspective was awesome.
Hi Renae: You definitely see the world differently when you go out with little kids.