Do Things that Delight You

Make a list of the things that DELIGHT you... events, activities, items, etc., but not people.

Now, go one step further, and do things to experience DELIGHT and to further find more DELGHTFUL events.

DELIGHT
n
joy, pleasure, gladness, happiness

Take pictures of things that delight you, or draw pictures, or write a poem or story.

Here are some sensory items to get you started on your list. Play close attention to colors, scents, textures, etc.

Sound

• Listen to CDs or tapes of environmental sounds.
• Laugh! Watch a comedy movie.
• Listen to a ballet.
• Sit in your backyard or in a park and listen to the birds.
• Sing as loud as you can to the radio in your car.
• Go to a symphony orchestra performance.
• Listen to someone talk to you without worrying about what you will say.
• Listen to books on tape while walking, driving, resting.
• Listen to music of one instrument, such as cello or harp or piano.
• Go to concerts of various music genres.
• Hang up wind chimes, inside and out... it creates positive qi around you.
• Invest in a tabletop fountain.

Sight

• Watch tropical fish swim in a home aquarium.
• Watch for a shooting star.
• Walk through a garden in full bloom.
• Watch a candle flame.
• Watch ocean waves ebb and tide.
• Gaze at the full moon.
• Look for the first sign of spring; the first robin, crocus, etc.
• Paint with watercolors, oils, acrylics.
• Watch a sunrise.
• Watch a sunset.
• Go to an art museum.
• Take pictures of things, not people.
• Use black and white film, not color.
• Look at something, really look at it for the first time.
• Buy paints in the primary colors... what new shades can you make?
• Put on different kinds of music and paint to the music.
• Rest with cucumber slices or wet tea bags on your eyes.
• Go on a whale watch in the ocean.
• Watch a baby, or a kitten, or puppy move.
• Lie on the grass and watch the shapes that clouds make.

Touch

• Make an adult blanket, using soft fabrics in your favorite color.
• Make a collage using assorted textures of paper, fabric, natural items.
• Using various grades of sandpaper, sand a piece of wood smooth.
• Walk barefoot on a sandy beach.
• Have a snowball fight.
• Get a hot paraffin wax dip treatment on hands &/or feet.
• Learn American Sign Language.
• Carve and whittle a walking stick.
• Go ice skating, especially on a hot day.
• Get a body piercing &/or a tattoo.
• Learn to play an instrument; piano, harp, guitar, that uses your fingers.
• Make love.
• Do yoga and tai chi, see how it increases your personal chi.
• Paint your toenails and fingernails with colorful nail polishes.
• Run, walk, swim, move… notice how it makes you feel.
• Pet a cat or a dog.
• Do some hands-on crafts; clay work, ceramics, pottery.
• Get an acupuncture treatment.
• Plant seeds in the earth.
• Cuddle up in a warm pair of flannel pajamas, under a soft blanket before a roaring fire on a cold night.
• Enjoy the feel of doing needlework; hand-quilting, crocheting, cross-stitch, embroidery, beadwork, needlepoint, lace making, or weaving.
• Enjoy the smooth feel of your legs just after shaving them.
• Do some messy childhood tactile arts; playdough, finger paints, mudpies.
• Hang wet laundry on an old-fashioned clothesline, and then folding the crisp dry clothes later.
• Take a hot bath with lots of soft bubbles.
• Hug a big, soft, plush teddy bear.
• Dance; take classes in ballet, modern, hip hop, lyrical, tap,belly-dancing, square dancing, western line dancing, ballroom, or salsa.
• Walk in the rain without an umbrella.
• Smooth on a soft body lotion, on arms, legs, feet, hands.
• Get a massage.Get a facial.
• Experience foot reflexology.
• Buy new sheets.
• Play with rice. Color raw rice with a few drops of one color of food coloring and a few drops of desired essential oil. Let sit and dry. Store in a low wooden box. This rice is very relaxing to play with, sift through your fingers, fill small silver or wooden cups, pour out. Revert back to childhood.
• Take a hot steamy shower.
• Give and get lots of hugs.
• Sit outside and feel the warmth of the sun on your face.

Scent

• Invest in a good aromatherapy book and some essential oils; such as lavender and orange. Lavender relaxes you, citrus energizes.
• Make aromatherapy playdough.
• Smell the air just after a big rain storm.
• Add essential oils to terracotta scent stones.
• Use lavender essential oil spray on your pillow at night to promote sleep.
• Do steam-inhalation to clear out your sinuses.
• Shop for scents: walk into a bakery, Starbucks, a fish market, etc.
• Light an aromatic candle.
• Place essential oil into a warm, filled bath. Get in and relax.
• Add 20 drops of essential oil to 4 ounces of water in a spray bottle. Spray throughout the house.
• Make or buy potpourri and put around your house to gently scent the room.
• Add essential oil directly to the vacuum cleaner bag before vacuuming.
• Put 5 drops of your favorite fragrance in with the clothes wash. Especially nice for lingerie.
• Wear your favorite essential oil in a special aromatherapy necklace.
• Make a pot of hot simmering soup rich with beef broth, vegetables, and herbs.
• Use Rice Healing Pillows: Use tea towels or a large wash cloth. Sew them up on three sides and fill with rice and herbs. Then sew fourth side closed.
• Buy flowers for their scent.
• Make citrus fruit pomanders with whole cloves.
• Make scented sachets for your drawers and closets.
• Plant scented geraniums around your front door.
• Buy a new perfume and the bath products to go with it.
• Burn some incense and meditate.
• Grow a fragrant herb garden.
• Make homemade scented soaps and candles.

Taste

• Drink clear clean water, and think about the taste.
• Do tastings. You've heard of wine, cheese, and beer tastings.
• Have some hot chocolate chip cookies and ice cold milk.
• Eat a pint of your favorite ice cream directly out of the carton without a shred shred of guilt.
• Eat a roasted hot dog at the beach or at a baseball game.
• Enjoy the taste of kissing someone after drinking a glass of wine.
• Catch snowflakes on your tongue.
• Get your teeth cleaned at the dentist.
• Eat a cold crisp apple.

What do you DELIGHT in? DELIGHT yourself! Then create!