Life can be so fast paced at times and we don’t get a chance to slow down and really notice the things around us and use all our senses to enjoy them. There are a number of rituals throughout the day we go through as a matter of mechanics, habit and in a state of oblivion.
Over the last few days I have tried to pay more attention to simple things throughout my day that actually mean a lot, set me up for the day/evening and which I have forgotten to appreciate as much.
Starting at the beginning of the day, I get ready for work but C makes my coffee, including grinding the beans ready for my take to work coffee. I suppose I am a bit of a coffee snob and we are quite particular about what we drink and when. I often just drink my first cup at home as a matter of throwing it down my throat before going to work. I don’t have the time to savour it, I sometimes burn my tongue in an effort to swallow it quickly. My take to work coffee is a slightly different matter. I use a @Bodum travel mug (the cafetiere version) https://www.bodum.com/gb/en/coffee/travel-press-mug . We get fresh beans which C grinds for me. The last couple of days I have taken a bit more time over drinking this when I get to work. I have been making sure to smell the brew, to let the hot liquid sit on my tongue and move around all my taste buds.
The bulk of the work day I don’t have much opportunity to think about simple pleasures. There are things that have to be done so I’m either developing frameworks, answering questions, formulating plans and so on. However, my simple pleasure is to go for a walk at lunchtime. Even in poor weather I make a point of getting away from my desk and out in to the open. We are fortunate that our site is surrounded by fields and woodland, so there’s opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of nature and well as feeling the sun, or the wind or the rain.
I have been trying to catch up with my podcasts, usually on my lunchtime walk. I have been listening to self-help ones like School of Self-Image, but also the Tudor Dynasty, some comedy ones like Older & Wider and Table Manners. I have enjoyed the light hearted comedy, but learning more about Tudor people and not just the usual main characters, and also learning more about myself and trying to develop better habits.
When I get home C has got dinner ready. Again, I have been trying to experience this more. Food is usually a fuel and I am a bit of a fast eater without savouring the flavours and smells. I have been trying to slow down, chew more and smell and taste the food, the individual constituent parts as well and the combinations of flavours. I have always been appreciative that C has prepared dinner as he is retired whilst I still go to work. We are fortunate to be able to buy good quality food and have a good variety of meals and like foods from all sorts of countries.
Now that we are getting out and about a bit more, I am trying to savour the simple acts of travel, being with other people and having hobbies and activities that we can share and experience. Even the simple(ish) act of going #bellringing on a Sunday morning means that we get to go for a walk, to see friends, do something we enjoy for a while, then enjoy our usual post ringing ritual of good coffee brewed ready when we get home.
I am trying to heighten my awareness of things that I had taken for granted, did as a matter of mechanics, practicality or habit and lost touch of.
What are your simple pleasures to re-engage with?
Bells, Bakes & Bettering Myself 