The contemporary moment is out of whack. Never has everything felt so utterly chaotic across the board, and people are hankering for some quiet calm.
Chaos breeds more chaos. There is a common, knee-jerk response when things feel too speedy, like every thread flies in countless directions that overlap and intersect without any pattern. We get worked up. We join the rush, adding one more tangent to all the others.
But even amidst those frantic conditions, there are stolen moments when slowness prevails.
These small pleasures are quick and fly past if one isn't looking. Lucky for us, there are more than a few Redditors with their eyes and ears open.
They described their favorite simple pleasures in a recent thread on the site. Perhaps their examples will help us be a bit more mindful about our own delights throughout the day, and we'll have a glimpse of calm in all of this.
Ididntfollowthetrain asked,
"What is your favourite simple pleasure in life?"
The Vow of Cleanliness
"Getting in bed with clean sheets after taking a shower." -- MartyVanB
"I always wash my sheets before I go on the road/vacation. That first night home in bed from travel, nothing like it." -- macmooie
"This. And also clean the house. Kids if you're sitting in the car waiting for mom and dad before a road trip... they are inside cleaning." -- WiseReflection5
Comfortably Insulated
"Sitting on the patio during a rainstorm. Even the moments before the storm comes, you can smell the petrichor and everything calms down. Monsoon season can bring some crazy thunder, it's always been a very relaxing experience." -- titofetyukov
"I lived in Iowa for a long time, (for non-midwesterners, it's windy, cloudy, thunderstorm and tornado-prone all spring, especially March and April) and whenever there was a big thunderstorm or wall cloud (cloud that means a possible tornado, maybe, probably not) we would set up lawn chairs in the garage and watch it roll in."
'If it rained hard enough we would go out and play in it. It's an amazing mix of thrilling and calming." -- FluffyClowd
Drawn to the Familiar
"Re-reading a favorite book. I find most well-written books are even better if you already know the ending." -- survivalothefittest
"I have never in my life re-read a book - I always imagine it won't be as good as the first time. But then again I really don't remember much, so I guess my logic is flawed. Must try it some day." -- BasketOfWhatever
"G2g, I have to re-read the Harry Potter series for the 80th time." -- calebpro8
Growing Longer
"Stretching: simply hanging from an overhead bar, you can target and stretch every muscle in your back, when you hit those knots, the feeling is orgasmic." -- macmooie
"A good stretch. Just standing up on my toes, arms out... ahh. I legit feel better just thinking about it." -- ZoomJet
"As soon as I read this I had to get up and stretch." -- Red_Banded
Warm Things
"In January, my wife ran a towel in the dryer for a few minutes and had it ready for me when I was done showering." -- jeff_the_nurse
"Heated towel racks!" -- rocknroyce
"A heated pillow under my feet." -- Croesus90
Best Meal of the Day
"First sip of coffee in the morning and smoking the first cigarette in silence." -- PsychologicalPrice98
"^ This! Except I do it with an energy drink, on my balcony in just my boxers. But yes, having that first jolt of caffeine with a smoke or two is an amazing feeling." -- BigBearSD
Crispy Stuff
"Going out of my way to step on a particularly crunchy looking leaf and getting a super nice crunch out of it." -- HSingh95
"The cold side of the pillow" -- Badger_Wadger_420
"A crisp high-five." -- WatchTheBoom
"Taking deep breaths of cold air." -- Kazutothompson
Quite, Nurturing, and Dusty
"Going to a library and just spending an hour in the stacks. Picking out a pile of books and being able to try new things without incurring any cost. Being able to sit and read without anyone hassling me to buy anything."
"Libraries are my happy place."
-- Portarossa
Surveying the Kingdom
"Mow the lawn and work in the yard all day on a Saturday. After about five hours you get done. Go inside. Take a long a** cold shower. Get out. Put on some shorts and a t-shirt. Grab a beer and a cigarette and walk around the yard inspecting the work I did."
"I no longer cut my own yard or smoke cigarettes but man that was an awesome feeling."
-- MartyVanB
Exciting Conditions, Once a Month
"Clear night sky, full moon. I open all my drapes and turn off all electric devices flooding my room with only moon light. Once your eyes acclimate, you'll experience your space is way you've never seen before."
-- macmooie
Ahhhhhhh
"Drinking cold water after being out under the sun." -- sharpie_head
"When your esophagus is dry, and you can feel the water moistening it after the first sip." -- densetsu23
"That feeling when you're hot and thirsty and you can feel the cold water going all the way down to your stomach. It's wonderful." -- Troutmandoo
Simple Connection
"I just love spending time with the people that love and appreciate me."
"Spending time with people that only criticize or take me for granted make me realize the people who care, really actually care."
-- Icehawksfh
Paradigm Shift
"Finding a new song you love for the first time."
" 'What's this? Oh my god, I have to listen to this constantly and share with everyone I know. How did I not know about it's existence until now?!?' "
Warm Splats
"Peeing off a cliff so high you don't hear your pee hit the ground." -- Imabearrr3
"Please check if it is a rock climbing area first!! No golden showers preferred while rock climbing, please and thank you." -- sadmangosteen
"Do not try as woman." -- IIRedZeroII
High Up Things
"Looking up. Clouds & trees mostly. Stars, too. Some birds." -- Ghitit
"Those damn birds." -- JadedEdge7
A Wonderful Start
"My ex would wake up first for work, make herself breakfast, and head out he door. I'd wake up an hour later and there would always be an extra plate of breakfast (eggs, sausage, potatoes) waiting for me in the microwave."
-- dj_lambylamb
The Great Purge
Taking a sh**, now hear me out, imagine you've been at work, your all tense, customers sucked dick like always, you come home sit down for a minute then walk into your bathroom pull down your pants plop onto the toilet then just let all your trouble out, blasting the toilet with all your built up hideous emotion."
