*Originally posted on my artist blog 2.23.12

While attempting to appreciate the effortless beauty surrounding me daily, (and my weirdo love of making lists), I’ve created lists of ordinary sights, sounds, experiences etc. that simply bring me joy.  They remind to stay present and mindful of the moment. I experience so many simple  things on a regular basis that make me genuinely happy, if I just slow down enough to notice.

Life will always be complicated, sad, and rushed. I’ve found the more I let the simple pleasures bring me contentment, the happier I am—a simple concept that feels impressively difficult to actually implement.

• Abandoned buildings being taken over by nature
• Sunlight, sunny days always make me ridiculously happy
• Tall grass moving in waves like the ocean
• Rain while the sun is still shining
• Capturing photos of animals while yawning and it looks like they are laughing
• Cats curling up in cardboard boxes, because for some reason all cats are inherently drawn to cardboard
• The ocean
• Rainbows over the ocean, really, rainbows whenever are pretty great
• Brightly colored clouds at sunrise or sunset
• Rain steaming down cracks in the street like tiny rivers
• My coffee swirling from a deep dark brown to a pretty light tan when I add milk
• Fresh snowfall, I don’t like to be cold, but sun reflecting off bright white snow is delightful
• Dogs being goofy
• Tropical flowers
• Soupy being bonkers-the-dog when I try to make the bed in the morning
• Pretty much any baby animal
• Low hanging fog in fields
• Dew on grass in the morning
• Sunlight streaming through dark clouds in rays
• Clothing swaying with the wind on clotheslines
• Soupy’s summer Mohawk haircut
• Happy graffiti and inspiring street art
• Birds sitting on telephone wires