You know when you just have one of those days when life feels super overwhelming and you just want to lie in the fetal position and never uncurl…? Hopefully those days are more the exception than the norm for you, but sometimes life just dishes out really hard seasons and you need to do everything you can to find little joys to get by.
Thank goodness I am not currently in one of those life stages (see post about getting engaged to my soul mate in a hot air balloon) but last summer while studying for the Bar Exam and basically living as a hermit in the library, the highlight of my life was going to Pinkberry (chocolate hazelnut, raspberries, coconut thank you very much) and then running along the lake where I got oddly obsessed with taking pictures of clouds. My daily routine was go to BarBri, study in the library, come home run along the lake, and obsessively look for amazing sunsets to take pictures of. My life was totally bleak and amazing all at the same time. When life hands you one of those tough seasons you are forced to find little joys to look forward to. My life as a law student really was the best training for this skill.
You need some little joys that make the everyday feel slightly indulgent and like you are on vacation. The following are some of my favorites-
- Taking a walk along the lakefront with a friend
- Grabbing a glass of wine at Eataly
- Getting fresh flowers, peonies to be exact
- Documenting sunsets and various ahhhmazing sky colors
- Watching an episode of New Girl or Duck Dynasty and giggling
- Flipping through new magazines while lighting a really good new candle
- Journaling and rewriting scripture until it begins to feel like it’s sinking into your soul
- Painting your nails a bright color
- Using brightly colored sprinkles on anything and everything
- Trying on fun new shade of lipstick
- Writing a letter on beautiful stationary
- Browsing, one of my favorite places in the entire world, the Papersource, and its Lakeview equivalent Inkling.
- Grabbing a cupcake at Sprinkles
- Getting a blow out, a really fun braid done, or your nails painted
- Taking a yoga class
- Baking cookies for a friend
- and last but not least, the cure all of all cure alls, going to Pinkberry
Seeing this list seriously just reminds me how fun life is and how much I want to do all of these things right now!
What are some of your favorite little joyful every day activities?
