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.
