Pleasures - The List of My Simple Ones

Posted by Dave Munson on 31st Oct 2020

Life is full of simple pleasures that are blessings in your life. Look for them. They’re everywhere. A friend and old roommate of mine, Tim Richards, walked in the front door one day and asked me, "Hey Dave, did you smell those flowers out front? They smell great." Honestly, I didn't even know we had flowers out front. He led me to the flowers next to the steps and knelt down to smell them again. And so did I. It brightened my day and I haven't stopped stopping to smell the flowers since. It's a simple pleasure that was free and good that I had been missing for years of my life.

Below is a list of some of the other things that bring me pleasure in life. I listed them by sense. Feel free to add your own simple pleasures at the end. And please keep it PG.


Sense of Touch
Water finally draining out of the ear
Putting on new socks after a shower
A fish on the line
A perfect handshake
Walking barefoot in deep mud
Swinging in a hammock
Drinking cold water when really thirsty and feel it go all the way down
Laying on a hot rock or sand after coming out of cold water
Acceleration
Getting into a heated bed in a cold room
High volume showers
Laying on my bed after a long day
My wife's fingers across my shoulder as she walks by
A firm hug
Sleeping in clean sheets
Backscratches
Buttscratches (it’s amazing how many people have never had that)
Headscratches
Armscratches
Picking scabs
Dogs leaning against me
Gentle yet firm hair pulling
Getting into a hot car from a cold restaurant
Hot bath


Sense of Hearing
Waves crashing
Thunder
A baseball hitting a glove perfectly
Howling dog
Bullfrogs
Lion roar in the distance
Cellos
Steady rain on the tent
A good drum solo
Screeching eagle
Opening of a can or bottle
Classical guitar
Running water in a brook
Striking a match
Cold water on a hot frying pan
Baby laughing uncontrollably
Crackling fire
Cutting of hair
Harmonica solo
My own kids singing
A compliment
A well hit golf ball
Slicing of a watermelon
Suction sound when pulling boot out of deep mud
Idling Ferrari
Puppy’s playful growl

Sense of Smell
Leather
Fragrant flowers
Fresh ground coffee beans
Desert after rain if it hasn’t rained for a lately
Baby powder
Vanilla
Fresh baked bread
Fresh baked cookies
Barbecuing meat
Campfire smoke
Fresh dirt
New car smell
Strawberries
Fresh cut Christmas tree
A fresh struck matchstick

Sense of Taste
Bacon
Eggnog
Wood smoked meat
Half baked brownies with cold whole milk
Horse burritos from Burritos del Oro in Juarez, Mexico
Cold crisp Portland, Oregon tap water
Dr. Pepper
Totino's Pizza
Cookie dough
My grandma’s pickles
Hot sauce and lime on my chips
French roast coffee
Burnt cheese
A good stout
Tacos al pastor
Pickled sausages
Peanut butter


Sense of Sight
Big waves
Landscapes that have a lot of different textures
Explosions
Waterfalls
Really big and puffy storm clouds
Running puppies
Hard rain
A lost dog found
Lightning
First snow
My gorgeous wife Suzette
Sparkling clean car interior
Fire
Animals in the wild
Lit candles
Slow motion of dog shaking water off
Slow motion of things breaking
Sunrise
Sunset
Triangles in nature
Field of tall grass in the wind



Unclassifiable Pleasures
Running over a soda can in the road
Doing donuts in the gravel
Fixing things
Rolling rocks down mountains
Giving a great present
Finishing a good book
When the bad guy gets his come uppins
Innertubing down a lazy river with friends
Jumping into water from high places
Beating my brother at Chess
Playing my son Chess
A good long hard laugh
My daughter’s unsolicited kiss
My wife's unsolicited kiss
Elephants in the wild
When your own kids get excited about simple things
Taking a great picture
A great last minute comeback in sports
When someone cocky is humbled
Peeling skin
Destroying things
A timely witty comeback
Coming home after a long trip
Traveling to new places
Taking pictures
Lighting fires
Getting an overdue oil change
Catching a crawdad barehanded
Throwing and sticking a knife into wood
Exploring
Finding long lost thing
Speed
Throwing rocks at things floating in the water
Skipping rocks
Car chases in movies
Hiking
Being the first to snowboard down a run after a fresh snow
Killing a mosquito

Appreciating the simple pleasures around you is one of the keys to a joy filled life. Watch for them. Am I the only man who enjoys these things? Add your simple pleasures below for all of us to enjoy, but again, please keep it PG.