A couple of weeks ago, I got a lovely handwritten note in the mail from a sweet elderly acquaintance in our community. She had read in the local paper that my oldest son was named the Connecticut Student Journalist of the Year, and she had clipped the piece which she sent along with her kind congratulatory message. Also tucked into the notecard was a little yellow balloon with a smileyface. The beautiful note was truly so touching and the balloon made me smile. I immediately dropped a note in the mail back to her, thanking her for her thoughtfulness and for making my day.
I was so tickled that I decided to post about it on Facebook, and I blew up the yellow smiley balloon to take a picture for the post. Well, it’s two weeks later, and believe it or not, that silly party store balloon has become everyone’s favorite object in the whole house! My teenage boys volley it back and forth to see how long they can keep it in the air. They try to spike it at each other. They do head-butts with it. I caught one guy repeatedly bouncing it off his nose like a dolphin. They play with it in my office. In the hallway. In the family room. One night I was watching TV in bed when one of them came in to kiss me goodnight carrying the balloon. He he tossed it to me and we went back and forth a few times. Such a simple pleasure, yet without fail, it makes everybody smile.
So can simple pleasures actually make us happier? Indeed they can, according to Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. “It’s not life changes like a new house or a fancy car that make the most impact, but sometimes little things like the smell of an orange that give the biggest happiness boost.” says Rubin. She adds, “Over and over, people tell me something like cleaning out a medicine cabinet gives them a huge jolt of good cheer and energy.”
The smiley yellow balloon inspired me to come up with a list of 101 simple pleasures that might make you smile or will perhaps spark other ideas of your own. Of course, simple pleasures aren’t universal, so one person’s pleasures won’t necessarily bring the same boost of happiness to others. But the possibilities are limitless and it’s fun and interesting to see what others consider to be simple pleasures, so please share your ideas in the comments below!
- Feeling the warm sand on your feet at the beach
- Seeing a baby light up with a giant grin
- Getting a handwritten note in the mail
- Listening to your favorite music
- Warm, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies
- A magnificent sunrise or sunset
- Cuddling
- Good chocolate
- Holding hands
- Laughing until you nearly wet your pants
- Inside jokes
- Spending time with people you adore
- A cloudless sky
- Your favorite flower
- Getting a call or email from someone you love out of the blue
- Watching your favorite childhood TV show
- Singing loudly in the car
- Hugging your babies, no matter how old they are
- Stargazing at night
- Lying in bed listening to the rain
- Finding money you didn’t know was in your pocket
- An icy glass of lemonade (or beer) on a hot summer day
- Getting a great parking space
- Sleeping in
- Fresh bed sheets
- Putting on clothes straight from the dryer
- A breathtaking view—water, mountain, cityscape, forest, whatever
- A picnic
- Plump summer tomatoes
- Bodysurfing
- A fireworks display
- Making someone smile
- Kissing
- The farmers market
- Helping someone in need
- The smell of a baby’s head
- Building a sandcastle
- Watching clouds float by
- A peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- Checking something off your to-do list
- The cool side of the pillow
- The smell of a thunderstorm (“petrichor”)
- Waking up and finding the alarm isn’t going off for another three hours
- Swinging on a lazy porch swing
- Snuggling under the covers on a stormy day
- A perfectly-timed, cozy snowstorm
- Relaxing in front of a roaring fire
- A great book
- A long walk on a cool day
- Cherry blossom trees
- A clean closet
- Unexpected good news
- The smell of a barbecue
- Bubble wrap
- An afternoon nap
- Finding an old personal treasure at the bottom of a drawer or in the back of a closet
- Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row
- A brand-new 64 box of Crayolas
- Cookie dough
- Your favorite movie
- Fresh-picked berries, still warm from the sun
- Not having to be anywhere
- Getting a giant hug just when you need it
- Minty breath
- Putting on a snuggly sweatshirt after a chilly afternoon at the beach
- A long conversation with a favorite friend
- The rare perfect errand day
- The smell of fresh-cut grass
- Tears of joy
- A fabulous bottle of wine
- Collecting sea shells
- Bubble juice and a bubble wand
- A newly-fallen blanket of snow
- Making s’mores
- The smell of fresh-baked cookies or bread
- Vibrant autumn foliage
- A foot massage
- Licking the batter
- Seeing a rainbow
- Candlelight
- Spring flowers blooming
- Hot chocolate on a cold day
- Finding something you made when you were a kid
- Puppy kisses
- Randomly bumping into someone you haven’t seen in a while
- A good hair day
- When something you were going to buy anyway is on sale
- Getting a caring customer service person on the phone
- A balloon
- Coming across an old photo that makes you smile
- The season premiere of your favorite show
- Riding with the top down
- A chocolate ice cream cone
- Taking a shower after a day at the beach
- When someone lets you know they’re thinking of you
- The smell of a sea breeze
- Hearing an old song you used to love
- A bright full moon over the water
- When a baby falls asleep in your arms
- Rereading a favorite childhood book
- City lights at night
What can you add to the list?
Thanks,i needed a smile.
This is the best article I’ve read in a long time!
Thank you, Marilyn…so glad you enjoyed it!
I like this article
I like your article