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Step 1
Remember to breathe. As silly as it sounds, many of us don't take enough slow, deep breaths throughout the day. Taking the time to enjoy the feel of air filling your lungs and feeling of oxygen coursing through your body is a reminder of life's most basic pleasure--life itself.
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Step 2
Look for at least one human interest story a day when you read or watch the news. We live in a society that puts all the horrors of life very much in the forefront. It's hard to see the good in people or life when you're bombarded with the reminders of all the bad things that happen. There are good things happening in the world, you just have to make an effort to find one of them each day.
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Step 3
Savor your food and take the time to taste each individual flavor when you eat. Too many of us wolf down food in the car, on the way out the door or sitting at our desks. Food is one of life's simple pleasures, for a variety of reasons: it's (luckily) abundant in our lives, we're able to eat for pleasure not of necessity and it provides a wonderful backdrop for socializing.
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Step 4
Avoid being distracted and derailed by petty annoyances. Sure, an hour-long traffic jam is frustrating and the wait at the post office was interminable, but at the end of the day you don't really want those occurrences to be the things that have defined your entire day. As difficult as it may be to do, try to leave those distractions behind once the moment has passed and move on to the next moment.
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Step 5
Be mindful of what the people around you find amazing and worthy of wonder. One of the simplest pleasures of life is the ability to share experiences with other people. Since we all see the world differently the things we appreciate differ. Take the time to ask a friend what gave her joy today.
Comments
alystarcrane said
on 3/8/2009 thx for sharing your insight. *****
writetruth said
on 7/9/2008 Beautiful article and well written. 5 Stars ~!~