Your delight is worth prioritizing
What was the last thing you were delighted by?
Can't remember? Not sure what I mean by "delighted"? Let's talk about it!
This week on Glennon Doyle's podcast, We Can Do Hard Things, they have been talking about delight. In an interview with Ross Gay, author of the book, Inciting Joy, they talked about the connecting power of joy and delight -- and how it's different than gratitude. In a follow-up episode, they shared their individual experiments with noticing delight, which is a wonderful way to get a snapshot of what delight looks like in action. (I highly recommend listening to the follow-up episode if you can only listen to one. I found myself laughing out loud and quite moved listening to them!)
I was so delighted by the conversation I had to write
and tell you about a way to get more delight yourself this summer!
Hold on, I'm getting ahead of myself...
What do I mean by delight? How is it different than gratitude?
The idea of delight is that it connects us to the whole -- to humanity (ours and others), to nature (big and small), and to the world (energetically and practically). Consider this an opportunity to notice the little things, the things that remind us that we are alive and part of a bigger story.
I've had a morning practice for years now that includes these prompts:
I am delighted by: (list 5 things)
I am grateful for: (list 5 things)
Delight and gratitude show up differently. You might have or be familiar with a gratitude practice. Often, my gratitude practice might include noticing and being grateful for: the ability to breathe clean air, the sun shining in the window, a healthy family asleep upstairs, or financial abundance.
When it comes to delight, my list gets more specific. Here are a few things I've written down in response to my delight prompt over the last week:
... colored sprinkles on my ice cream,
... a little boy squealing with laughter at the park,
... my bare feet in the soft grass,
... the feel and smell of peony petals.
Notice the difference? Each of these things reminds me of something bigger I'm a part of...creation, life, joy.
Ready to insert more delight into your summer?
Here are 3 ways to add more delight:
1. Notice what is around you right now -- and name it when you see it.
(My teenagers roll their eyes when I point at something and say "delight!"... which makes it all the more delightful!)
Hot pink nail polish -DELIGHT!
Blooming yellow flowers -DELIGHT!
Smell and sizzle of dinner on the grill -DELIGHT!
2. Start a delight practice (or expand your gratitude practice) by writing down 5 things every day that delighted you.
Get granular...it gets easier with practice! What you focus on expands!
3. Join my free WhatsApp group: "Daily Delight!"
Add what delighted you to the group! You can add a picture or text, whatever sparked a moment of delight. This is a great way to build your delight muscle in community!
Do you notice how we can feel joy when we seeothersexperiencing joy? There is a word for that! "Mudita" is a Sanskrit word that means "vicarious joy" and "delighting in others' well-being". That's part of why I popped up this group! Let's expand our delight together!
I cannot wait to share your delight with you this summer!