The Simple Things...

One of my favourite films of all time is the french film Amelie. Amelie tells the story of Amelie Poulain, a whimsical, romantic character who decides to take small steps to improve the lives of those around her, while battling with her own isloation she has felt since childhood. She finds great pleasure in everyday things, like the cracking of a creme brulee or the sound of a porcelain cat bowl being placed onto tiles. Set in modern Paris, she goes through life embracing these small moments herself, and attempting to create larger ones for others.

The world wide web is the home of so many wonderful and whimsical things. Through the internet, we can express our inner Amelie to hundreds and thousands of people. Suddenly there is a space where people can share their thoughts, and dreams, and not have to hoard them all in a journal that no one else will ever get to read. Some people set out to see the world in a better light and help others do so aswell, and Neil Pasricha is one of these people. He writes the 1000 Awesome Things blog, which updates every weekday with another awesome thing. These things range from the obscure to the mundane, but generally I agree with what he calls Awesome. He tends to write a reasonable length post on each thing, and they are all archived. He is counting backwards and so far is on #520 - almost halfway.

I like to think I find small pleasures in everyday things, much like Amelie and her skipping stones and dipping her fingers into bags of grain, but alas I just don't think I am quite upbeat enough to think of something awesome everyday (sad but true) - hence I am going to try and sporadically come up with something that I find to be a simple pleasure.

So here goes. It's an obvious one, but never-the-less an even that never fails to put me in a better mood. There is nothing better than fresh, crisp linen. Slipping into a bed made up with clean cotton, all smelling of lavender (I am a huge fan of lavender linen mist - is it possible for something to make you feel sleepy and reviatlised at the same time?) is the ultimate luxury. Since moving to the big city I have been sleeping in a small bed (go figure) and all my really soft cotton linen is still in SA, and suited for bigger beds anyway. But I dream of my big bed, swaddled in percale, sheets and duvet cool and floaty, and me all tucked up in the middle. I might just changes my sheets tonight now...

Got any simple pleasures of your own?