A Final Ramble on Simple Pleasures
It's cliched to talk about enjoying small things but it's also worth thinking about what those things are.
[Photo by Lala Azizli on Unsplash]
Some Simple Joys
My current new joy is typing up a blog post with my back to a radiator, sat on the floor. Without layers it would scorch my back. With a mug of hot herbal tea. And some favourite music.
Yes that's my work environment! My kind of weird.
Blame a kitchen Aga when growing up. Standing with back to it whenever we wanted to get heat.
Others are dancing, dinner/coffee with people, cuddles, board games, a hot drink in my hands, a book, a podcast, walk by the sea.
But sometimes its the contrast. After weeks of travel I'm happy to see my own kitchen and cook my own food. Walk familiar paths, visit familiar cafes and see familiar faces. Come the New Year that'll be no doubt different.
Lost Among the Clutter
The point is that we often make things hard. When they should be easy. Things creep into life and take up time. Barriers and boundaries are pushed, ties and relationships building up, some chosen, some not.
In the recent lockdowns that all broke and we had time to rediscover some of those simple pleasures. Discovering which relationships we valued, what we missed and how we spend our time.
And how are tastes and lives have evolved.
I'm doing the same with two large parts of life. I'm taking a break from roleplaying games (Dungeons & Dragons to some) and our group is playing online. It's a break I have every few years and I'll probably go back to it, but maybe it will just become part of work.
Salsa is the other. Encompassing bachata, kizomba and several other dances, it used to be something that was 3-5 nights a week. During lockdown and travel it wasn't possible or I wasn't too worried. There was a weekender in July and a couple nights in Poland. But now there is dancing back in Devon and I'm...ambivalent.
But the absence of both gives time to discover other joys, and see what is missed. Maybe I will find a new joy in running online D&D one-shots or connect to dance again in a local scene.
In the meantime it's a chance to look at other clutter and decluttering it.
Take a moment to do a before and after of the epidemic. What your life looked like before, in the middle, and now. See what was missing, what has crept back in. What were the small joys of before, in lockdown and now?
Decluttering the Rambles
And so onto decluttering the Dice Song blog. About having focus and clearing out the crap.
I'm looking at my creative blog and trying to find the simple pleasures and meaning among it.
And one of the things to go is the Rambles.
They were fine while I was working out what to do with the blog and during Lockdown. A way to explore themes. To think about my life and writing and what I want to do with them and can do for others.
As I'm bringing together strands it's time to say goodbye to All of the Rambles.
An opportunity to switch from looking inward to looking outward. To create articles with a bit more focus and quality.
And I'll also be forced to come up with new article ideas.
So goodbye Rambles. You were what I needed here during Lockdown. And it's time for new ideas.
And that's ok.
Finishing Up
What are your old, new or rediscovered Simple Joys?