Simple pleasures, for a simple man

[Gordon]

It's 6:40 here in Scotland, at the moment, I am sitting at my laptop relaxing, reading things from this forum and I got to thinking.....what gives us real pleasure sometimes.

Right now, this weekend, my other half and my 3 year old son have gone off to stay with Nana tonight. I have had the whole evening to myself.

Initially I thought....wow, look at all this free time, I could get some really amazing work done.....then I thought....NAH!!!!

I am sitting here with 2 large beefburgers (no apolgies to the vegans and veggies here) in buns, washed down with some really cold beers!!! (My wife left me a vegetable curry in the fridge....NOOOOOOO), at ten past seven Dr Who is on, and I'll get to watch without interuptions or bath times getting in the way.

I plan also to sit down and watch it, whilst nursing a rather nice malt whisky (I am a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society)....and do you know what right now I can think of no better evening ahead......

As you can see I am easily pleased......

What other "simple" pleasures do others enjoy when they can?

G

[Angela]

I just put clean warm sheets on the bed, and later this afternoon, after a jump in the ocean and a shower, I will curl up there with "The House of Mirth" and a glass of Grgich Hills Chardonnay (2003) while Danger Man makes me a salad. The anticipation of those pleasures is every bit as delicious as the actual execution of them, I think.

Everybody wishes they were me!

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by Angela

I just put clean warm sheets on the bed, and later this afternoon, after a jump in the ocean and a shower, I will curl up there with "The House of Mirth" and a glass of Grgich Hills Chardonnay (2003) while Danger Man makes me a salad. The anticipation of those pleasures is every bit as delicious as the actual execution of them, I think.

Everybody wishes they were me!

Thats nice......incidently I have a friend who starred in the movie house of mirth....as a bum....(life imitate art for him).

Anyway....your simple pleasures are nice to know about too.....mmmmm....a nice chardonnay.....that's good

G

[Erki]

I keep refreshing this forum's index page over and over... doesn't give me huge pleasure but at least wastes my precious lifetime.

[Akashic_Librarian]

A glass of Ice Cold Cider and The Matrix

[openeyes]

Sharing massage with friends/loved ones, cooking with plenty of butter, taking naps, good music/movies, books, and a glass of wine, vodka, or hot chocolate. Aside from a close friend (human, cat, or dog) to share things with on occasion, what more does one need? Time to live slowly is a wonderful luxury.

[Shamou]

Enjoying a beautiful and intelligent wife for the past 24 years... sharing in Cyberspace (close to 12,000 post in about two years)... enjoying semi-retirement in not so humble surroundings... being healthy and going to the gym regularly...

I could have more but Bill Gates won't trade bank account with me..

.

[Patricia]

This is a good thread. I think people would be happier if they (myself included!) took the time to notice and feel grateful for the little things we tend to take for granted. I have been trying to exercise this kind of awareness for a few months now and discovered that there are many of those things surrounding us and happening to us all the time, it's just a matter of paying more attention to them. Sure, there are those moments when everything seems to fit together and all of a sudden you realize "Oh, I feel so good and happy right now, everything seems perfect", like in the situation described in the original post in this thread, but I have a feeling that we miss out on enjoying this kind of thing more frequently simply because we're too busy with other things while being completely unaware of the things surrounding us that could produce the very same effect, should we just notice them more consciously.

To me, I feel really good when I get home and my dog greets me at the door all happy because I'm home, or to wake up in the middle of the night when it's raining and just enjoy the sound of the rain (I sometimes even open the window so that I can also smell the rain) - and speaking of that, I go out in the rain on purpose because it makes me feel simply wonderful and energized. To get hugs and kisses from my 2 little cousins and see them smile and laugh, to enjoy a nicely cooked meal, even to spend time by myself on weekends doing what pleases me. To light up a vanilla scented candle in my room before bedtime, to put on new clothes or that comfortable old sweatshirt smelling like laundry, to drink fresh coffee on a cold saturday morning right after waking up when I can stay in. To watch a beautiful sunrise or a beautiful sunset, rainbows. To act silly. I feel like everything is perfect in all of the situations above and in many many others, but I noticed that I've started feeling like this much more frequently ever since I decided to consciously pay more attention to these little things. I haven't done that yet, but I will soon - make a list of all these little things that make me happy and even go a step further, not only noticing them when they happen, but also making them happen whenever possible - and let's face it, these things are so simple that making them happen many times a day even is not even hard!

Clean sheets is a good one too. In the past week I bought these cosmetics I really wanted (like body lotion, make-up, a new perfume, etc) and I really enjoy taking care of myself, so getting out of the shower (oh, and the feeling right after you take a shower is wonderful to me too! ) and using these products, feeling the smell of that particular body lotion I so much wanted on my skin and the smell of the perfume and so on, this was simply wonderful! I went to bed (in clean sheets ) feeling great! The following day, same thing and I also got all dressed up to go out, used the new make-up, the same perfume again, I felt like I was gliding - and not because I thought I looked good necessarily, but because I was feeling good with myself. These are all simple things, but if we allow ourselves to enjoy them fully they tend to expand and to produce longer lasting results.

[silicon toad2000]

so many things come to mind, a nice long sweeping corner on the bike, conversations with my daughters, a smoke and a beer at the pub with a mate, a peer at work say 'this is good information to have' after reading a new report i made, a new batch of homebrew turning as the best yet.
When I started my working life my blissful time was a trip to town on the bus, I'd buy an old Phantom comic from the comic shop, get a slice of pizza from this old pizza shop tucked away in an arcade, then buy a white magnum ice cream on the way back to the bus and read the comic on the way home.

[Chet]

Chcolate Cake!

[ZenFender]

A tub of ice cream, cartoons on TV, and a partner to share it with.....bliss

[mlc82]

My favorite thing on earth to do to "chill" is brew up a cup of coffee, and drink it while playing a computer game or watching a DVD with my girlfriend. When I'm not working on something or working out, I don't mind being lazy

[Peter S C]

Great thread. Now lets see, some of mine are:

• A cup of coffee first thing in the morning.
• Smiles from my 4 month old son.
• Listening to good music on my ipod to and from work.
• Sitting in the park on my lunch hour enjoying the sunshine.
• That first afterwork beer on Friday night.

[shiatsustudent]

We have house martins nesting under our roof eaves for the first time. A real pleasure to hear them chattering and then giving us a aerobatic display over the garden.

[Matthew Shea]

Now I'm getting food cravings! Thanks (not)!

Some of my favorites are:

A nice medium-rare prime rib with a good glass of red wine
A bowl full of a nice, rich chocolate ice cream, preferably with caramel
My son running over to hug me when I get home from work
Seeing my son laugh when we're playing together
A fresh cup of a good, fresh-ground coffee
Driving a fast, good handling car (I'm extremely lucky that my job affords me the opportunity to do this regularly)

[Kaspian]

Fresh fruit, especially berries, nectarines, cherries, and peaches
Being surrounded by music, playing horn in a good orchestra
Watching my garden grow and produce tasty things
Taking a long, hot shower after working in the yard
Laughing at my husband's silly jokes
A warm, fuzzy blanket
Naps