Simple Pleasures of Ordinary Life

“It is pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness; poverty and wealth have both failed.”  Most will not disagree with the perceptiveness of these words of writer Kin Hubbard. So this leaves us to search for joy & bliss in those seemingly modest & sometimes, extremely ordinary things in life, which if realized & appreciated, illuminate our lives like trinket lights on a festive night.

To me the simple pleasures of our ordinary life are:

• Inhaling the earthy scent that emanates following the first shower of the season.
• Watching chirpy birds fluttering around your bird feeder.
• Sleeping on freshly spread crisp bed sheets at the end of a tiring day.
• When your D.I.Y home decorating job turns out as good as a professional’s.
• Reading your own personal diary, written passionately during the turbulent teenage years.
• Giving something in cash or kind to an underprivileged person.
•  Receiving a compliment from someone known to be very critical.
• The looks of a sparkling bathroom after an hour-long backbreaking scrub & wash.
• The relief from chaos and commotion that a sudden power failure brings on a cool moonlit night.
• The realization that somebody understands your point of view perfectly without you having to explain.
• Having a baby fall asleep in your arms.
• ‘Hearing the ocean’ from a conch shell.
• When the whiff of a particular smell takes you back to some memorable time from your past.
• When your ‘baked’ samosas taste just as good as fried ones!
• When, unexpectedly, less than 50 hair fall out on brushing as compared to the usual 100.
• Embracing the warmth of the sun upon emerging from the freezing environment of an air-conditioned building.
• Finally managing to complete reading a very erudite (but well known) classic.
• Managing to accomplish something no one thought you could accomplish.
• Walking on the beach at night with warm waves lapping at your feet, as you reflect on the complexities of life.
• Waking up from a drowsy sleep only to realize that it wasn’t your alarm and you can go back to blissful sleep for five more minutes!
• Finding a long lost gold bracelet, caught up in the sleeve lining of a dress you wore long time ago.
• When a really chatty friend rings you up just when you are down in the dumps or terribly bored.
• When your homemade Swiss roll manages to ‘roll’ perfectly without cracking.
• An unexpected cloudy spell in the middle of a sweltering sunny summer day.
• Waking up one morning to find new leaves sprouting from your ‘dying’ plant; you had given up hopes on.
• When you buy unnecessary stuff from a visibly improvised roadside vendor, in order to help him.
• Sitting snuggly with your close family and sharing jokes and stories over nuts and cappuccino, on a chilly winter night.
• When you turn out to be the only person in a group who knows the capital of some less known country.
• The confidence and pride you feel at the arrival of unexpected guests on the very day you had whipped up some very presentable goodies.
• Eating salad made from your homegrown vegetables, even though you are not a fan of salads!
• Having, at least, one person in your life who has a good sense of humor and who can make you laugh.
• The silent assurance that you are loved.
• The lightness you feel after meditating in complete privacy or sincerely praying to God about whatever was burdening your heart.
• Receiving a hand-made gift from someone and reflecting upon the creativity, care and time that the person put into it, just for you.
• Surprising a total stranger with a random act of kindness without any expectations in return.
• The gratefulness you feel when you compare yourself to those below you.
• When you are at peace with yourself at being content with life.
• Winning someone over by voluntarily accepting defeat.