by Carmen Catterfield, MA, Honeybee Healing & Counseling Services
We are all in need of more self-love. There are the familiar practices of self-affirmations, gratitude lists and self-care routines, but I would like to add a new practice to the list — the practice of delight.
When was the last time you were delighted by something? Can you remember?
Delight too often is an experience we reserve for children, labeling it as juvenile or foolish. But what if what we leave behind in childhood is exactly what our hearts need as adults?
Delight comes naturally to children partially because of their unadulterated ability to be in the present moment — experiencing each second in Technicolor, aware of their senses and entrenched in a moment’s uniqueness. As we age, it becomes easy to get caught in the flow of light that can begin to feel monotonous.
Be curious
And quiet. The forgotten wonders of our life are hiding in the moments we often consider the most mundane. When you are walking, stop and look around. Maybe the light is dancing or a tiny green shoot is finding out how to live in a concrete world. When you are eating your favorite food, savor it.
If you intentionally look for delight, you may be surprised what jumps out at you. It is incredibly personal, and for each person it will be unique.
Write it down
As if you were a scientist studying your own joy, make a daily list of your findings. Soon enough you will have pages of tiny moments of delight. These delights can provide a much needed light on our heavier days, the ones in which our life feels utterly devoid of joy.
We pay attention to our pain, and it is important. But we are rarely encouraged to truly attend to our own joy. The practice of studying your own delight to truly understand how to sustain it and nourish it is a fundamental practice of how to truly sustain self-love.