Everyone talks about the advantages of taking time out for "simple pleasures".
The idea is that we will be happier if we often do inexpensive, easy-to-do activities.
However, the problem for many of us is that we don't know what makes us happy. When I was in college, my mother gave me some wise advice. She said, "Before you get married and live with another person, you need to spend some time living by yourself. You need to get to know yourself."
So I did exactly that. For almost two years, I lived by myself, I found that I loved to spend hours looking around in bookstores. I also loved to spend an afternoon just walking around the city. And every so often, I needed the moments of pure silence.
But, of course, we all don't enjoy the same things.
A simple pleasure for me would be to spend an hour reading a book in my backyard. However, that same activity would give my husband no pleasure. We are all so different.
Sometimes, we already knew what makes us happy. However, as life gets busier and we get older, we put aside our simple pleasures.
For example, I had to give up playing the flute when I started working and had family responsibilities. Playing my flute seemed selfish when no one else in my family could join, but three years ago I returned to playing the flute. I regret having ever stopped.
Simple pleasures are neither simple nor common. Our simple pleasures are a reflection of who we are. They are different activities that give each of us joy.
Certainly there are some common topics-such as being out in nature, doing something creative, or enjoying music and literature - but beyond that, each of us has to find out what it is that feeds our souls.
That isn't always easy in a world in which we have to consider other people's needs and opinions as well as our own, but enjoying simple pleasures is something that each of us deserves.
Think of it as your right, and say to yourself, "Today, I'm going to discover what my simple pleasures are."
