There’s a certain time of mid-morning when the sun shines through the crystal prisms dangling in my kitchen window and tiny rainbows dance across the wall. Not on cloudy days. Or days when I’m too busy to notice. But whenever I catch these little delights, I am dazzled by them.
When the world feels like a dumpster fire, it’s nice to notice little delights in unexpected places. This got me thinking: What other delightful things can I find if I take a minute or two to look for them?
Perfect for snakeplants!
A Little Delights Scavenger Hunt
It turns out, I can find quite a few little delights when I pay attention and notice them.
Like this spider plant with the big personality I received as an itty-bitty baby clipping from a neighbor in my local Buy Nothing Group. I didn’t really know anything about taking care of plants, but it was during the pandemic and I thought why not give it a try? It’s a little delight watching this spider plant grow up and have a baby spider plant of its own.
I am also delighted by the tiny Santa Claus figurine I forgot to put away after Christmas. (It’s Christmas every day now!) And this other Buy Nothing plant clipping my dog accidentally cleaved with his violently happy tail. I stuck the severed stems back into the dirt, hoped for the best and moved the pot to a higher spot. It has tripled in size. Delightful!
I really enjoy sitting in my kitchen every morning drinking coffee and looking out the window. As I looked around this corner of my home the other day, I realized this spot is brimming with all sorts of little delights.
A windchime that softly swooshes when I open the window on a breezy day. A wonky curtain I taught myself how to sew. A bouquet of anniversary flowers he chose for me because it’s the same color pallet as a bag of Utz Party Mix.
Little delights are easy to find once you start looking.
Grateful or Delightful?
There are lots of studies out there about the benefits of gratitude, including decreased stress, improved mental health and stronger connections with other people. I am grateful for many, many things (and people!) in my life. I’m not discounting a regular gratitude practice.
But this isn’t that.
Am I really grateful for this silly Halloween decoration? No.
I’m delighted by it!
It doubles as an anniversary decoration because it reminds me of the party we went to a few weeks after we got married.
I re-wore my wedding dress and a fabulous wig. He let me paint his face green.
I am grateful he cheerfully goes along with all of my nonsense.
But I’m delighted by the fun memory.
Gratitude and delight often dovetail. However, delight feels more playful and fun to me where gratitude can sometimes feel more like an obligation. Like I need to try really hard to feel grateful in order to be a good person. That’s a lot of pressure sometimes!
Delight can’t be forced.
But little delights can be discovered in unexpected places like a favorite corner of your kitchen on a sunny morning.
What little delights can you find if you take a minute or two to look for them? Challenge yourself to go on a Little Delights Scavenger Hunt. Then leave a comment and let me know what you find!