Honing My “Delight Radar”
Doesn’t that sound like fun? Honing my delight radar. Getting better at pausing and seeing the awe in simple things I often look right past. Improving my skills of being present and paying attention. It is a delightful pursuit. Even a few minutes a day can make a big difference in my mental, emotional, and spiritual states, and my physical being as well.
Delight isn’t absent of pain and profound challenges. It can exist right beside both and help carry us through. Delight reminds me that I am a tiny being in a boundless space. This helps put any situation I am in into perspective; less dramatic and more solution-focused and calm.
The photo below is a collage created from pictures I have taken in recent days.
The delights of spring emerging, but trees still revealing a pair of eagles and a cardinal. The mystery of clouds and how they continuously evolve. One formation even looked like a giant question mark to me, with a sideglance. The joy of sharing a gratitude journal with a dear friend. A tapestry at our church, weaving in prayers and gratitudes from our community. The flowered pattern of one of my dresses, making an appearance back in my wardrobe with the warmer weather.
The sun flowing through stained glass windows in a beautiful church that an hour before had been packed full of family and friends for a funeral of another who was taken by cancer. (Rest in peace Connie.)
And a peaceful evening fire to offer time to reflect and ease into rest.
“Delight” was also this month’s topic for Rivertown Grateful Gatherings. Our gathering was held via Zoom last evening, and nine of us from across time zones and international boundaries came together to share what amounted to humble grace and the importance of connecting to each other and the world around us. Thank you to all who were present.
We were inspired by the work of author and poet Ross Gay and the resources provided by Grateful Living, including the “delight radar” idea. I encourage you to read his work and listen to his voice. And to consider noticing some simple delights in your day today. I have been making a list in recent days, and it includes things like dandelions, Reese’s peanut butter eggs, and singing along to an old Chicago song as I drove down the road to that funeral.
Onward! Trust that there is delight in the hours ahead.
