To get this thread back on track: Finishing a work of writing! I'm surprised that nobody has said that one yet. It's amongst the greatest solitary joys, along with mastering playing a new song by somebody else, composing and being able to play a new song, and finishing a work of visual art.
I second @Alstroemeria's mild remonstration and ask that the thread return to its original intention, lest be closed for fatal derail.
I did.. more or less Or another one: watch the sun in flames go down over the wide, wide ocean reflecting upwards on the clouds, and then.. watch the stars come out and the sun going up again the following morning. Might be cliche but it doesn't deflect from it's beauty.
After a heavy rain, the stream that runs through the back of my property, in the woods, down in the gully, there is a symphony of frogs and birds. Their lives seem so much more real to me, sometimes, than my own. They are so present in the moment where I am constantly distracted by the past and the future. I envy them. Saudade.
The Mennonite girls around here have the loveliest hair! I get giddy just looking at it. No hairspray, no hot iron, no funky hair dyes. It's all waist length and butterscotch blonde. Makes me long to be ten years old again and run over and beg to braid it - Also my dog Bubbles, a Boston Terrier, he gets this look on his face. Half closed eyes, misty and dreamy. I think how wonderful is this little creature who has his own thoughts, and personality and blooming love for life.
Discovering a new character in my brain to write a story about Is that cheating? Very well then: discovering a new unsolved mathematics problem to start trying to solve (Collatz Conjecture - beyond me. Perfect cuboid - boring. 3x3 Magic Square of Squares - absolutely addicting )
The sound of my 12-string acoustic guitar when it has new strings on it. I love that sound more than almost any other. The taste of a good bitter beer, especially at the end of a hard day of work. The smell of woodsmoke from a hardwood fire. The smell of freshly-baked bread, still warm from the oven. The feel of a purring cat curled up in my lap. Watching the sun come up very early in the morning, when no one else in the house is awake, and it feels like the world is being reborn, fresh and new and full of infinite possibilities.
My husband when he wakes up, his hair all tousled and eyes dreamy. Awwwwwness. Horses in movement. The saying, "I give thee flight without wings," uttered by Allah when the horse was created, rings true whenever I watch horses in wilderness or in competitions. If by morning you mean 2 pm on Saturday, then yes, this is beautiful.
Yeah, they weren't kidding around with all those stories and poems that celebrate the beauty and majesty of horses. And yes, coffee at 2pm is beautiful as well.
These are all among my favorite things. But to embellish a bit: The aroma emitted from a homemade yeast dough as it's rising is utterly heavenly. Getting up before sunrise, sitting on my patio with a cup of hot coffee, watching the sun as it lazily starts to glow in the east, and actually being aware of the nature around me, easily constitute some of the most serene moments of my life.
It's late at night, the Christmas tree has been decorated and the lights on. Just below it are a pair of doggie beds with your dogs curled up in each and snoozing with content. Oh, and your usually neurotic cat is on your lap, purring and very calm.
Watching the sunrise and the clouds washed in vibrant colors. They looked like flames of a vibrant red, burning away the darkness. Autumn when the leaves change. To love and be loved, if only for a moment. To be treated like a human being.
