Practice delight
Play with this simple practice of noticing and labelling delight for a week and watch what happens.
The barren tree, camouflaged behind the cement wall, took flight, just as we passed it in silence. Or so it seemed in the moment, as a dozen sparrows lifted skyward. In a second they were gone, as one.
“Delight!” I called, lifting a finger into the air.
I lowered my face to his soft, sleeping crown and breathed in the scent only babies have. I filled my nasal cavities with his scent and closed my eyes.
“Delight!” I called, lifting a finger into the air.
I cupped my hands around a freshly brewed cup of coffee and tucked my pyjama-ed leg up under me. The sun was not yet up and he sat there, hurdling steadily toward sixteen. We sat in the dark and he spoke in detail about God’s punishment of the pharaoh.
“Delight!” I called, lifting a finger into the air.
“What is this, your Delight?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s a practice I read about and am trying for a week to see what happens.”
“What kind of practice?”
“Well, the idea is every time you see or experience something that delights you, you call attention to it, preferably out loud. You mark it in time and place. My guess is this raises your awareness of all the things around you that delight you. And … other people get to share in the fun as you call out your delight.”
“Interesting …”
“Right? Okay, so, how about you? What delights you?”
“That’s easy,” he said, not missing a beat, “My nephew.”
“What about your nephew?”
“His baby sounds, his smell, the way he moves, his funny expressions, his smile— he’s just so cute. He is delightful!”
“Yes, he is. Just being around him makes you smile. We could also call him one of your ‘fun magnets.’”
“He’s definitely a fun magnet!” my son’s eyes danced, “All mine!”
“Delight!” I called, lifting a finger into the air.
As Catherine Price writes in The Power of Fun:
“… the more attention you pay to the delights in your life, the more delights will reveal themselves to you. It’s almost like tuning in to a frequency on a radio dial. And the better attuned you become to everyday delights, and the more actively you seek them out, the more likely it will be for one of your delights to cross the line into fun. (And even when this does not happen, you’ll still be delighted, which is a lovely state in which to spend your time.)
Focusing on delight will also help you cultivate a Fun Mindset by rekindling your inner playful spirit, the part of you that knew how to have fun when you were a child, and coaxing it a little bit further out of its grown-up shell. Not only will you attract more delight to yourself, but you yourself will become more delightful — which in turn will transform you into an even more magnetic force, both to other people, and to fun itself.”
I definitely think Catherine, who was inspired by poet Ross Gay and his daily project to write an essay every day for a year on something that delighted him (see The Book of Delights), is on to something. As fascinated as I am by play and experimentation, I decided to test it during my Optimal Week to see where it takes me. So far, it’s taken me to more connection, playfulness and flow, which is Catherine’s very definition of fun. How wonderful is that?
Speaking of fun, if you’re finding these times dark and cold in the northern hemisphere, and could use a pick-me-up, Catherine is running a free February #Funtervention. As a fellow fun lover, and lover of play and pause, I’ll be joining in, with bells on. 🔔
In the meantime, I’ll be lifting a finger and calling out “Delight!”
I wonder, will you give it a try, too? If you do, I’d love to hear how it goes. And I’m sure Catherine would, too. 😊
Leave a comment or send me an email at julie.harrisguiader[at]gmail.com.
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