Simple pleasures & Joie de Vivre

I recently came across the idea of the ‘Pocket List’.  Not just another to do list, a simple way to add “Joie de Vivre” to your way that you live and look for the opportunities to find more. But the beauty of this one is it’s only for you to do it, there’s no failure in not doing it.

Simple pleasures, an old concept that’s often taken for granted in our daily lives being busy rushing between commitments. While many of these concepts are wrapped up in the concept of mindfulness, the French concept of Joie de Vivre comes from a different relationship to time, where we spend it enjoying life more, where success is not related directly to commercial achievement, the emphasis is on enthusiasm, energy and spontaneity.

The Pocket List is a reminder to include these in your daily activities. Now the quality of those moments matters too. A simple pleasure might be a chocolate for some, but the best quality you can find is what makes it a memorable moment. Stopping to notice the patterns and colours of the autumn leaves on the ground.

In mapping Joie de Vivre to create your own pocket list we can divide the experiences into doing, being and feeling to encompass our whole selves, and step by step, without the stress of a complete life overhaul, we can elevate our whole lives. Simple.