Great Pleasures of This Life
Being loved by you
Cheese
Eating cake in bed
Sleeping in but still having the whole day
Coffee in the sunshine
When a cat on the street comes up to you to pet it
When a puppy or baby falls asleep on you
A cold class of water on a hot day
The perfect outfit
thrifting the thing you were looking for
Making things with friends
Feeding people I love
Cheese, pasta, and wine
All food tbh
The perfect worn in over sized tshirt
Waking up horny in the middle of the night to masturbate and then falling peacefully back asleep
When an old woman needs help crossing the street and chooses you to do the honour
When an old man is lost in a wheel chair and you take him back to where he is needing to go and learn his life story
Good salt and olive oil
Washing the dirt off your feet after wearing sandals all day in the summer
Kissing a lover on the dance floor
Lake swim days when the water is warm and you’re alone in your spot
Fresh sheets
The smell of lilacs at 7PM after a hot day
Eating a meal with many colours
Really good sauces
Perfectly ripe fruit - specifically pears and nectarines
Saving a voicemail from someone you love
Emails/text/online communication from grandparents
The perfect pair of sunglasses
The perfect jeans / jorts
A fridge full of momento’s and love letters and memories
Fresh dough in the oven
Picking herbs fresh from the garden for a meal
Buying lemonade from a road-side, children run stand
When all your laundry is clean
Making it home with 1% battery on your phone
But also when your phone dies and you just let it be dead and live in the real world only for a little bit
Film camera’s and photos - specifically getting printed versions of them
Memory boxes where said photos and other life memorabilia are kept
Inside jokes that last years
When your slang starts getting used by the people around you
Seeing god/the universe/divinity in simple things around you
New leaves on a plant
Lifting your face up to the sky when you get caught in the rain
Making ugly art
Doing things you loved as a kid as an adult - water gun fights, pool days, picnics, friendship bracelets, baking cookies, sleepovers
Re-reading a book you love and still being touched by it
Showing people you favourite movie and having them love it
Freshly squeezed OJ
A good greasy brunch when you’re hungover than actually heals you
Going to bulk-barn and getting all the snacks you want
Ordering a pizza alone with all your fave toppings and eating it in bed with a comforting show or movie
Wearing PJ’s as an outfit
Borrowing something from a friend and they say “it suits you better, you should keep it”
Finding exactly what you were looking for at the thrift store
That moment in a cold dip when you come out of the “I’m going to die here” feeling and into the deeply relaxed, releasing feeling
Hearing a song you really love in the car and belting it out
Listening to that song a couple more times for good measure
When you stretch and actually get release in the exact place you need it
When you pull a card and it doesn’t kick your ass but actually is a gentle reminder from the universe
When something you’ve been studying or practicing or working on finally clicks
Smoking a joint on a little island in the middle of a lake after canoeing out there with your bestie
Seeing your childhood best friends family and still feeling so loved and integrated into their dynamic
Facing something that has been on your mind for a long time and the relief that comes with it being over
When you thought you forgot something but you didn’t or someone else brought it
The ugly, cozy outfits you employ only for the cottage or camping
When someone braids your hair
Getting a tattoo/piercing/procedure that makes you feel more like you
Making a recipe you’ve never made and having it turn out awesome
Finding a snack you forgot about
Finding a joint you forgot about
Finding a piece of clothing you forgot about
IN GENERAL finding something you forgot about
When the green lights are on your side
A really good journal session
Feeling gratitude that you’ve been mentally practicing or recognizing
Knowing you’ve done everything you need to
Showing up for something you were scared to show up for and having it go really well
When you realize you can trust yourself
Figuring out your ideal grocery list; what you like to eat, and make, and the actual quantities needed
Stealing from value village (or as I like to call it de-investing from capitalism)
Creating little phrases like “de-investing from capitalism”
When something you have become accustomed to gets a brain refresh and feels new again
A really sharp knife
Having things that are associated with you (certain colours or smells or songs or drinks)