Every now and again, I add a post here that centers on something I consider to be an “Essential” in the Splendor journey. (You can search for all of these Essential posts using the search bar, if you’d like to read more.) This post is one of those. You see, I thought it was High Time to write about Pleasure as an Essential.
I think I felt a nudge about this topic because I’m reading an interesting book about this very thing. It’s My Pleasure is an older, but not antique, book. First published in 2005, it was co-written by a mother and daughter and I’ve found this perspective to be very engaging. In many ways, the content isn’t anything ground-breaking, but I’m really enjoying the way in which the material is being presented. (And the asides about romance novels might have you re-thinking that genre!)
For many of us, there’s an invisible “guilty” in front of the word “pleasure.” (I know I’ve done that.) And a “guilty pleasure” seems to be just about anything that isn’t painful or productive, like sleeping in or insisting on making dinner look pretty or watching an old favorite TV show. Well, it’s high time to put a stop to that. Quite apologizing for your likes and minimizing the things that make you feel good. Celebrate the small wins. Take the extra two minutes. And do it often!
I’ve decided that I need to concentrate on these lessons for a while.
You see, I’ve been working (and it’s been work some days!) for the last six months on building some better, healthier habits. But I’ve been downplaying the fact that I’m still keeping at it after six months. Instead of celebrating that I drink lots of water every day and exercise more than I did (and have even lost ten pounds), I’m listening to a nasty hobgoblin of an inner voice that’s telling me that I should be doing MORE. I should have lost more weight, I should be exercising harder and more often, I should be stricter about my sweet tooth and stress eating habits, et boring cetera. (Don’t even get me started on what this voice says about my artistic progress or my housekeeping abilities!)
Time to shut that hobgoblin down.
So tonight, after a day of drinking pure, clear water, I dug out a pretty glass and had pink lemonade with a sizable dash of “desert pear” syrup. (The bottle had been a gift from foodie friends – and there I was, never using it.) I’m going to go through my stash of “good stuff” cosmetic samples and make sure to use some things up this week, instead of hoarding them for a day that may never come. And my 15-minute lunch walk and/or 10 minute stretch and balance routines are several steps ahead of doing nothing. It gives me pleasure to move and dance-party-in-the-living-room-with-a-cat and even just wiggle my fingers. So I’ll do it. I enjoy walking on my front porch with my morning coffee and just seeing the plants. I’ve got a long way to go to become an actual gardener, but I can enjoy the birdsong and the greenery right now. Eat dessert. Use the face mask. Buy the flowers. Insist on long hugs.
Pleasure is not something to feel guilt over.
Enjoy, Divas.
Leave a Reply