27 small pleasures
Joy is everywhere if you pay attention.
Hey there,
I recently finished The School of Life’s Who Am I? guided journal, and one of my favorite prompts was to create a list of small pleasures. It made me realize and appreciate that you can find joy everywhere, throughout your day, as long as you pay attention.
I thought it’d be fun to share my list here and invite you to share a few of your small pleasures in the comments!
Make sure you read until the end because the last one is pretty excitingggggg (at least for me!).
27 small pleasures
Sipping my first cappuccino in the morning, seated next to the window.
A cozy night on the sofa (often, alone).
Making brownies from the box and licking the wooden spoon and bowl—it reminds me of my childhood.
A good slice of NYC pizza.
An NYC bagel or a BEC (bacon egg and cheese) sandwich.
A clean and organized house.
Finishing a book.
Watering my plants.
Wiping the table and counters clean.
The one day a month when all the laundry is put away.
A long hug from my boyfriend.
Reading on my Kindle before bed until I doze off (currently loving Goodbye To All That).
FaceTime calls with my mom.
Finishing a long client project.
Not having a to-do list (more on that here).
Making beaded jewelry.
Texting and FaceTime with my niece.
Playing Padel.
Rubbing moisturizer into my face with a gentle massage or a Gua Sha tool.
Getting a massage.
Standing a few minutes longer under a hot shower on a cold day.
Seeing my plants grow.
Sunbathing in my living room, which doesn’t happen often in Amsterdam, making it even more amazing.
Hanging out with my mom, even though it’s so different these days now that she lives in memory care.
Walking along the canals in Amsterdam each morning to my coworking office, and then doing it again on my way home.
The beautiful, massive oak trees in Ocala, Florida, with Spanish moss dangling from their branches.
Setting and reaching small goals. My first-ever published personal essay (well, published via a large platform) is now live on HuffPost! OMG. Yayyyy. Shiiiiit. Yayyyy. Shiiiiit. Yayyyy. < That’s how I feel right now. Haha. It’s both exhilerating and scary as fuck to put myself out there. I wrote about tricking my mom into moving to assisted living after her Alzheimer’s diagnosis and our journey together from her home in Pennsylvania to her new “cozy winter condo” in Florida. I’ve been blown away by the dozens of emails and DMs I’ve received from readers, sharing their stories and thanking me for sharing mine. That’s the real win. Feel free to ask me anything about my experience with the long goodbye or about my experience writing and pitching personal essays in the comments of this post. Happy to share!
See you soon,
Alexis
P.S. If you liked what you just read and want to support me, please tap the heart and leave a comment below to help more people find it (and so I know what’s resonating). ❤️
I absolutely love this! I might steal this format (crediting you and linking to you of course) if that's okay.
Woohoo! So proud of you! 🥳💜🙌