What’s one thing you do everyday that brings you an inordinate amount of joy? Simple, quirky, calming, silly I want it all!

Question

Emilie Bienvenew · Answer

Mix generation learning the family recipes: Ask your mother/father/in-laws/aunt/uncle to spend time teaching to kids and your generation their best family recipe(s) - especially the ones with all the "secrets" ingredients or gesture to master it. Of course the dish is now named under this person for 2 generations at least : what a great memory to pass on !

Did this with my mother-in-law and her grandson : we now master the secret of homemade vermicelli and will cherish the time together in the kitchen spreading flour everywhere !

Emilie Bienvenew · Answer

Go out with a Watercolor Travel Kit: Find a place to sit down, and just start drawing & painting what you see (nature, city, people, animals) in a little sketching book.

It makes quick & easy and helps focus on small details. What helps me : drawing in a sharp black pen then painting in the colors.

I'm not really good at it, but it's ok : some pages turn out good enough and some not really, but just keep trying a new picture quickly. I'm thinking of doing it during traveling, which I can put in my travel notebook.

Erin Chalkley · Answer

Daily Beaver Fortunes: I go on morning jogs around a local lake and motivate myself to keep going by looking for beavers. Depending on how many beavers I see and what they are up to I text my friends various fortunes of how their days should go. For example:

Berwyn Beaver Bulletin: Single beaver sighting this morning. This fella wants to remind you that in a world full of silly geese, stay true to your beaver self!

Clara · Answer

Hario’s wooden coffee mill: This thing is such a sensory delight, from the look of it just sitting on the kitchen counter — it’s probably the most beautiful item in my kitchen — to the satisfying crunch of the burrs going to town, to the aroma of the freshly ground beans. It doesn’t take long to use at all, but manages to make every pot of coffee an experience.

Wine Guy · Answer

Desert Sandalwood Hand Soap: Yeehaw I'm A Sandalwood Cowboy

Amazon and DTC

This luxe sandalwood hand soap with tasteful notes of iris, vetiver, and cardamom will transport your nose to the most delightful version of the American Wild West—a gorgeous frontier fantasyland where the coyotes let you pet them and the cowboys are all horsegirls. Reminds me of Santal 33. Made with olive oil and aloe vera, it cleans effectively without drying out your hands.

Bad Gal Lee Lee · Answer

Taking baths and reading: I’ve started doing this when I’ve put the kids to sleep and my night tasks are done. It’s the nicest way to fall asleep afterwards. Sometimes I treat myself to bath bombs and love the ones from Rocky Mtn Soap Co (it’s Canadian).

Sarah Beck · Answer

Entire nighttime routine in the shower: I can't go to bed unless my feet are out-of-the-shower warm. And a daily pleasure is doing the whole night time routine in there - floss, brush, take off makeup, wash my face. Why do this on cold, dry ground when you could do it in a warm waterfall? Good living, important night time wind down routine.

Kate Beck · Answer

find out what makes a baby laugh: Making a baby laugh is the best and everyday I to try to find something new that my little pumpkin thinks is funny (the word “popcorn” had a two day streak of giggles recently, babies are so weird). So joyous!

Spines, Flicks, and Wax · Answer

Setting Up a Bird Feeder and Watching the Visitors Fly In: Doesn't require anything fancy (we started with my daughter's feeder from Wood Shop until the elements destroyed it) and it is a joy to watch them with a cup of coffee in the morning.

I also bought a cheap bird bath and have lured even more customers to my yard ;)

Ona · Answer

Swimming laps: Doesn’t matter how fast or hard I swim, but the cold water and quiet and exercise are the perfect reset.

Aya C · Answer

Clouds: Look up with your mouth agape.

Sheena · Answer

Resting my head on my cat’s belly when they’ve been napping in the sun.: It’s a drug.

Meg · Answer

having a dog: I’ll not be elaborating

Molly Hall · Answer

Eat a sweet treat every night.: Dessert is for every day.

Catherine Davis · Answer

Wabi-Sabi: When I started looking for it, I found opportunities to embrace the concept of Wabi-Sabi everywhere (my driveway under my pink flowering trees) The acceptance of transience, imperfection, the beauty found in natural, weathered, or flawed objects… I like to think of these petals in the cracks as nature’s Kitsugi…

Ena · Answer

Salted honey iced latte: I now make this every morning and crave it over buying coffee!!

I use Nespresso pods (am I cancelled?) or you can use any espresso, mix in a spoon of honey and a pinch of chunky salt, then add milk and pour over (ideally, crushed) ice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Elena · Answer

Semantle: A maddeningly fun guessing game

Haley James · Answer

Notice Light: I could truly fill my phone up with daily light noticings. Through a glass. Sparkling on water. Dancing on curtains. Making rainbows in oil in the parking lot. Even just a five second pause gives me a lil boost of awe/wonder.

(Linked here is, to-date at least, my only TikTok video, with audio from THE David Whyte interview I also gush about here.)

alexis · Answer

Korean Spa Scrub Mitts: If you can’t get to a kspa, these are so cheap and exfoliate like nothing else. Soak in the bath for at least 10 mins then scrub every inch with these. You will be horrified by what comes off and have immediate baby skin, not to mention how good it feels doing it.

Emilie Bienvenew · Answer

Mono no Aware : Finding Beauty in Life’s Fleeting Moments: I've learned this japanese philosophy which is so lovely :

To feel mono no aware is to reclaim to pause — 
to stand still, even briefly, and allow the beauty of passing moments to move you.

It teaches us: Because it ends, it matters. Because it fades, it’s precious.

One way this concept is applied yearly in Japan is the cherry blossom season - it's not just pretty, it's special because it's ephemeral. Apply it to all aspects of your life, game changer.

Maryn · Answer

Morning walk: I have a dog, so I have to get up and walk every morning and it's the best way to start the day. Would recommend, dog or not!

Photo from a recent morning walk :)

Dylan · Answer

Going non verbal for two to twelve hours: where my introverted overstimulated divas at???

Dylan · Answer

Batch brew or pour over coffee with a dash of cold regular milk: If I'm making it myself, I'll add a tiny pinch of sea salt and sometimes a drizzle of honey :)

When I worked as a barista, I'd just drink shots of espresso, then I got the ick & ventured into the land of the cold brew, but now my body prefers a slightly less jarring & more digestion-friendly variation

Dylan · Answer

Giving your cat 500 forehead kisses: i don't make the rules, this is just a legal requirement in my house.

Eric F · Answer

Casual gardening while my cat wanders around the yard 🌱🐈‍⬛: To wind down after a day of work, I’ll put on a podcast, go outside, and let my cat explore (supervised) while I pull weeds, water, prune, say hi to neighbors, etc. It’s nice to get some fresh air, check out all the local animals and bugs, and make a little yard progress.

amy groome | mid-flight · Answer

Drinking a Hot Beverage Out of a Bodum Mug: These mugs make me so happy! Also making my bed every day. Maybe not joyful but very important to my well-being. A keystone habit!

GK ✨ · Answer

Giving my cat a great big smooch 💋: He jumps on the kitchen counter every morning so he can give me loving headbutts. It’s the best way to start the day. 🥹

JaperMoon · Answer

Dancing to (at least) one song, every single day: Its exercise but also it signals to your brain that you are safe, it’s stress management thats more fun than meditation or journaling.

Sometimes i need to force myself to do it and i’ll put on a less-upbeat song and just sway my body. I bet that recent req for songs that build up would he good.

Linking to an email from Booty and Brains about dance as stress management that really spoke to me.

Also this emoji looks like me :)

Heather M · Answer

Frozen grapes: I eat them ALMOST every day. I don’t know what to tell you, I’m obsessed!