Small Delights

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

                                                                                                                               —PSALM 36:7-9 (NIV)

Sometimes our obsessed-with-positivity culture forces us to be grateful or optimistic or to find a brightside. But I think we need a wider language to capture the multitudes in a single day. A moment of meh. Another of thankfulness. Yet another of irritation. Sometimes our grief or sadness or exhaustion catches us by surprise. And the next moment might have us in a fit of laughter. Maybe we should embrace “whatever kind of day we are having” (we even made posters for our office!).

My friend, journalist Catherine Price, spent several years studying “fun.” What does fun feel like? Can we manufacture the experience of fun? Is fun uniform to every person? What if we don’t have time for fun!? Her research uncovered that true fun, which she defines as a combination of playfulness, connection, and flow, is essential for a joy-filled life. But how do we do it when our lives are too full of the things that rob us of experiences of joy?

One practice Catherine started using she borrowed from writer Ross Gay. When she is in a moment of delight, she takes note of it. She sticks her pointer finger in the air and says, “Delight!” This small practice doesn’t pretend a whole day is delightful (they often aren’t), but takes a minute to recognize the moments when delight interrupts the monotony of a day. A gorgeous sunset on your way home from work. Delight! The joke the kid in your life made that made them crack up. Delight! A catch-up with an old friend where you felt known. Delight! A delicious meal. Delight! Clean sheets. Double delight!

Catherine explains that finding delights might feel easier than keeping a gratitude journal, where you can sometimes feel forced to be thankful for e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. (Because, if we’re honest, sometimes our kids or spouses or roommates or parents are a source of gratitude and other times they are menaces.) Delights are small and simple pleasures you can identify throughout your ever-changing day. A chance to be honest about the small, pin-sized moments of joy in an otherwise garbage day.

READ THIS BLESSING
FROM THE LIVES WE ACTUALLY HAVE
for learning to delight again (p. 176)

Blessed are you who discover that even in the smallness,
your attention might be compressed even more.
You who pull out a magnifying glass
to discover, to notice, to taste, to smell
the small joys and simple pleasures that make a life worth living.

 REFLECT

1. What kind of day are you having today?

2. What are the savory things of life that remind you of the goodness of God? This goodness does not have to deny or ignore the day you are having. There is enough space to hold both at the same time.

3. How can you start to see small delights in the world and share them with others?