Pleasures in Life (4)

Katie, our guest blogger today, is nothing but lovely. She’s a wonderful yarn dyer I met through the wonderful world of twitter and ravelry – she’s a designer too, you should check out her awesome sock patterns! We share a love for caffeine and drinks, and hope to go on a pub crawl sometime in 2013. Enjoy!

 

Simple Pleasures of a Hedonist

My husband and I often joke about what hedonists we are in comparison to most of our friends and
family. While they pursue mighty things like the best way to educate children, philosophy, and modern
politics, we’re busy discovering extraordinary restaurants, making new entries into our Cheap &
Amazing International Wine club, and dreaming about what sports cars we’d love to drive someday. We
gad about on the weekends cooking up special meals, brewing beer, and criticizing movies.* Though
we love our life and our family, we’re not busily marketing their many appeals while sweeping the
difficulties under the rug. And that one fact makes us very different from many people we know.

For me, it’s not about being a super-snob. I’m not trying to out- cook, out-enjoy or in any way out-do
anyone I know. It’s about taking time in life to enjoy something simply for its own sake: finding pleasure,
entertainment, and joy in the good things.

The daily tasks of living can be quite mind-numbing. The sheer workload of doing laundry, keeping my
house tidy and my family fed is a full-time job. (Feel free to insert your own mind-numbing tasks, here.)
It has to be done. It needs to be done. I want to do it…but it’s not enjoyable. Sometimes I feel nearly
suffocated by my daily responsibilities. I combat this by setting aside time to enjoy something. I am
specific. I plan and follow through. By specifically planning and setting aside time, I avoid putting it off
for later. I know that I have made time for myself to experience and enjoy something new.

So I have a proposal for you. Whether you are busy about the big important things in this life
(philosophy, politics, career) or mired in the small things (laundry, marketing, cleaning) find one thing
this week to purposefully enjoy. Plan ahead. Set a firm time. Gather what you need in advance. Follow
through.

Learning to enjoy the pleasures of life, big and small is essential. I think it’s time we gave less credence
to what must be done and reacquaint ourselves with what makes us truly joyful.

*Ok, I admit not every weekend is a mini-vacation….but we do try.

P.S. – Are you inspired but stumped? Can’t think of anything you’d like to enjoy? Here are a few idea to
help you out:

* Simple pleasures can be anything: a bottle of wine, a special meal, a delightful painting, a movie
you’ve been dying to see, an antique, a photograph, a genuine smile, art, rock music, exercise, a
landscape, a new place to explore.

* Think of something you’ve always wanted to do. Use this as a springboard for choosing something new
to enjoy.

* Go through the effort of setting aside the time to truly experience something joyful. Don’t wimp out.
Plan and follow through.

* Branch out. Choose something that makes you mildly uncomfortable, but that calls to you. Many times
enjoyment is waiting just on the outside of your comfort zone.

* Pick a friend or family member to join you and explore something new together. Joy is often better
when shared.

Katie splits her time between designing and dyeing yarn in her Midwest yarn studio. When she’s not knitting she enjoys spending time with her husband and children, reading, watching films, and brewing beer. Catch up with her art & her life:

Blog: www.DyeingToKnit.com

Yarn: www.ShopYarnLove.com

Twitter:@Yarn_Love