If you read my last post you might remember me mentioning that I was going to talk about number 8 from Charlotte Davis Kasl's book Finding Joy; 101 Ways to Free Your Spirit and Dance with Life.
Whew! long title.
Anyway, do you remember what it was going to be on...?
Well in case you don't, number 8 is titled, "Allow Time For Pleasure." So here we go.
The author starts out this section by saying, "Imagine taking a day to be guided solely by pure delight...and nurturing simplicity by feeding ourselves with joy."
Lets take the first part, I would love to take a day and be guided by my pure delight. I would probably end up at some place Disney. But it's the second part that I need to focus on more. The simplicity of feeding ourselves joy.
She goes on to talk about going to a class where her teacher talks about how he would do this. He would take a day, wake up and would just let his mind go to images of possibilities until something triggered then he would do what ever he felt inspired to do. Like go to a nearby town, drop in on a friend, go to the library, etc, etc, etc.
You know when I was in college I use to do this kind of this all the time. I was going to school in Rexburg, ID and I would have a few classes in the morning then I would have the rest of the day to myself and since my roommates were still in class and I didn't have a lot of friends I would just walk around town on my own.
A lot of times I would walk over to the floral show and buy myself a flower or a card that I liked just because it would make me feel good. Or sometimes I would treat myself to a steak lunch or dinner. You know how it is as a student you rarely have a steak dinner, because you're always broke. When I would get a little extra from my mom or grandparents I would treat myself and walk to, probably the only steak house in town, and get the whole meal. Sure I ate alone, but I didn't care it was one of those simple pleasures.
So why did I stop? Charlotte Kasl has a good answer for that, she says, "For many people, allowing pleasure induces guilt because they have been taught to be productive and get things accomplished." I can see that. In college I was still in the process of learning. I didn't have a family or a job/career, so I didn't feel the pressure of having to be productive and accomplished. Now a days even though I don't have a family of my own and I don't have a "career" I still feel the pressure of having to be productive and accomplish. There are bills to pay, a mom we take care of, work that has to get done. You just stop thinking that those simple little pleasures matter.
Charlotte Kasl goes on to say, "Gentle pleasures are productive. They're good for your health. They help you relax, put you in touch with your spirit, open your senses, and deepen your connection with your inner wisdom." So those simple pleasures or how she says gentle pleasures are healthy for us. Maybe if we all stop to take time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life people would be happier. They would be friendlier to each other and the world would be in a much better place. I think a lot of us have forgotten to take time for the simple pleasures in life that bring us joy.
She finishes this section with, "When we develop a capacity for knowing what will bring us pleasure, we can care for ourselves when we are lonely or when life is difficult." It's so true going back to my college days. If I didn't do those simple things for myself I think college would have been very very lonely.
So here is a challenge for myself and for you. Take a day or if you can't do a whole day what ever time you can and do or find that simple pleasure that will bring you joy. I'm going to do it this week and I'll let you know how it went next week. I hope you will join me on this challenge and I would love to hear how it went for you.
Well I better go, so until next time remember; only you can make up your mind and do it.
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