How to be Happy: Find Joy, Beauty, and Pleasure Every Day
66
Little Things to Brighten Your Day
-
Watch a child or children play. Children ARE Joy, at least to me. They have a fresh perspective we can step into.
-
Listen to music and dance or sing or both! Be completely uninhibited
-
Bring flowers into your home or office
-
Call an old friend and remember the time you both laughed hysterically or shared big secrets
-
Call a favorite aunt or uncle, or other relative you havent seen in a while
-
Eat an ice cream cone, make sure its a very large one
-
Pet a furry animal - Visit a pet shop to play with kittens and puppies. Or visit a petting zoo. If you have allergies, get a stuffed toy. Try out several until you find the one that feels just right.
-
Sit in a park or garden, listen, feel, watch, no phones allowed! Feel the sunshine, lift your face to the breeze, sit in the grass and feel the coolness with your hands.
-
Do something creative.
-
Make a cake and decorate it. How about a Williamsburg Orange Cake?
-
Draw, paint, knit, doodle, sew
-
Look through photo albums and remember past joys. If you already have albums for them, organize your newest photos into them.
-
Watch home videos. Better yet, watch them with the people in them.
-
Browse through an art gallery or museum. If you can't go there, visit one online
-
Take photos of unusual objects, spider web, blades of grass, close up of fabrics, or an unsuspecting loved one
-
Start a new hobby that you've been thinking about for a while, genealogy, graphic arts, a blog, a photo diary
-
Write poetry.
-
Write stories, your bio, bio of a family member who is special to you.
-
Send a random gift to someone anonomously, perhaps a photo, card, favorite book, flowers
- Buy a box of pretty notecards and send a note to someone you haven't talked with in the past month.
- Play a trick on someone you love. Start a fight with water balloons, water guns, or pillows
-
Have an ice cream sundae for lunch. Put fruit with it if you feel too guilty about it ;-)
-
Do someone a favor that they didn't ask for. Pick up something for someone that will save them a trip. Drop off a basket of goodies from your garden to a neighbor.
-
Sign up for the class you've been thinking about and putting off. Perhaps a writing class or a drawing class, pottery, dance, exercise.
- Clean or tidy up something you’ve put off for a long time - it will give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. A pile of mail, clothes you no longer wear, old magazines, your car, your jewelry box.
- Curl up with a good book and your favorite beverage (I'll choose a cool white wine)
marcoujor Level 8 Commenter 14 months ago
Love the random acts~~ especially with people you will never meet again... there are hidden angels all over this Earth! Thank you...