You will find truth more quickly through delight than gravity. Let out a little more string on your kite.
Alan Cohen

When I got sick in September, my doctor said something to me that stuck. He asked me if I knew what delighted me. He gave an example of smelling chocolate chip cookies baking, but said it could be anything that brings me great pleasure or joy. He encouraged me to seek those things out and try to do one thing a day that delights me. I put the idea away until just this past week I was reminded again about this idea when reading about a young Englishwoman named Joanna Field, who discovered that she felt she wasn’t living a truly authentic life. In her journal, A Life of One’s Own published in 1934 she shared her journey to find what truly made her happy. She approached it as a detective would, seeking clues to what was missing in her life. Reading this was a reminder of what my doctor prescribed; find a delight and focus on it every day.

As I thought about this concept, I decided that I would put a little focus on it and challenge others to do the same. I put it out there to my instagram community and began to get answers back as to what delighted them, things like watching musicals and rose water delighted them. I too began to really think about what delighted me. I found it difficult at first, I think we easily get into ruts, focusing on all the “have to’s” and forget to look for the delightful feelings that we often felt as kids. I realized there were quite a few things that I delight in, most of which I hadn’t given much attention to in recent years. At the top of my list was my bathtub and taking a warm bath with a good book and a candle. I love everything about it! I love to look at the bathtub, it’s design and the view of the landscape outside. I love to relax in warmth. I love the feeling of a book in my hand, and the story inside. I absolutely find everything about this delightful! The funny thing is, until I chose to be more conscious of what delighted me, I didn’t know how much I loved it.

I think the difficulty for us today is that there is so much information coming at us all the time that we are constantly bombarded with distractions and temptations that scream out for our attention. I believe whatever we give our attention to grows. Realizing that I had become a passenger on a very fast and loud train, I began to make the shift to focusing on lighter things and making time for more little moments of quiet. I am quite sure I am not alone in this, the rest of the world is on the train too! It didn’t even occur to me that this may not be where I was supposed to be. In this environment it is quite easy to lose ourselves, and along with it, what we delight in and what makes us truly joyful.

As I’ve begun to put my attention to things that delight me, I am feeling lighter, and it is building upon itself. The things I’m noticing are growing into more delights and more desire to have a little quiet time to make space for them.

Here are three tips to get you off the fast and loud train and to uncovering your true delights:

• Do a news fast. Turn off the news, even if for a period of time. I did a three month news fast and that in itself was delightful! I now only listen to a little news here and there and I am far more discerning about what I take in.
• Journal about what you loved at age 6. Sit down with a journal or piece of paper in a quiet space and remember back to when you were 6 years old. What did you love to do? This will lead you if you are really stuck.
• Try an Artist Date. This was a concept I learned in a book called The Artist’s Way. The concept was presented in the book to encourage the imagination and to get one away from work and distractions one time a week, scheduled on the calendar. With it planned on the calendar, it is given priority and will be more likely to happen. Note: You do not have to be an artist to read this book or do an artist date. It’s just something to get your imagination fired up again!

Most importantly, give yourself some love and attention. Take a few minutes to ask yourself the question. So few of us stop to look at the good things and what makes us truly happy. I don’t think you ever totally lose it, but you can certainly come close when you don’t give yourself enough attention!

Consider joining my instagram delight challenge @freebrooke. I’m inviting all of my friends to find a delight and post it on their story, tag me and I’ll share it. Imagine if we all regularly shared what delighted us, what a lighter more positive world we would live in! Let’s encourage this together. I’m delighted you took the time to read this today! See you on the gram! And remember, what you focus on grows. It’s time to let a little more string out on your kite! xoxo