100 Ways to Be Delighted - Christine Kane

In my last post, I suggested writing a “Here’s What I Love” list — 100 things that delight you. Writing it will make you smile and remind you that life’s pretty cool…

Here’s my list. Feel free to add to it!

1. Standing in your yard listening to snow fall late at night
2. The sound of pencil on paper
3. Woodsmoke in late fall
4. Puppy breath
5. Rollerskating
6. Laughing so hard that even after you stop you keep having fits of laughter
7. The back of a baby’s neck – especially after a nap
8. The sound a basketball makes as it swishes through the hoop
9. Paws of sleeping kittens
10. The smell of dirt
11. The call of a Nuthatch
12. Skinnydipping
13. Rhododendron, Trillium, Firepink and Galax
14. Songs that make your eyes fill with tears as you drive
15. The “chink!” sound of a metal bat connecting with the baseball on a hot summer night
16. Windows with old ripple-y glass panes
17. The smell of autumn fallen leaves in the woods
18. The full moon sparkling on water
19. Your favorite blue jeans
20. Dwell Magazine
21. Writing
22. A single orchid on the coffee table
23. Rainy mornings when you have the day off
24. The way little kids hold their hands in the air as they walk
25. West Wing Re-runs
26. New car smell
27. Apple computers
28. Skipping stones
29. The sound of wet river stones in your palms
30. Sea glass
31. Finding a perfect whole sand dollar
32. UNC beating Clemson!
33. Finishing a work-out
34. Really great sound at a performance
35. Great sound guys (and gals) who are responsible for the really great sound at a performance
36. Finding a parking space
37. The sound of your childhood doorbell
38. Hiking all day
39. Beethoven’s Sixth
40. The taste of the lunch you brought on a cold day’s hike
41. Candlelight
42. Seeing a shooting star
43. Gumball machines
44. Holding hands
45. The smell of crayons
46. Finding the perfect present for someone
47. Making someone laugh out loud
48. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
49. Kites
50. Boat rides
51. Merry-Go-Rounds
52. The way your dog’s ears bounce up and down as she walks in front of you
53. Getting an actual letter from someone – handwritten and everything
54. Making art
55. Sliced tomatoes in August
56. The smell of rosemary in your hand
57. Calvin and Hobbes
58. Pesto
59. Paul Simon songs
60. Finding an arrow head
61. Sunsets on the bay
62. That excited feeling in your heart when you hear the first lines of a favorite song
63. Saguaro Cactuses
64. Old skeleton keys
65. Being able to type
66. Playing your guitar (or piano or whatever) just for the hell of it
67. Dancing in your house to bad disco tunes
68. The Princess Bride
69. When you’re so in love with a book you’re reading that you feel excited the whole day just to get back to it
70. Dark black scuffed dirty stage floors as spotlights shine on them
71. Finding a branch of black raspberries on a walk
72. The woods after it rains
73. Camping
74. A good cry
75. Lying on your beach blanket and watching sand crabs walk sideways
76. Traveling to places where no one knows you or knows where you are
77. Swinging on swings
78. Trains in the distance
79. Handfuls of glass beads
80. Riding bikes at the beach (where it’s flat!)
81. Toe shoes
82. Cash
83. The way squirrels put their hands over their hearts as they look around
84. Going home
85. Riding on trains
86. A great picture on your driver’s license
87. Dog sighs
88. The olive bar at Whole Foods
89. Making up words
90. Inside jokes with your spouse or partner or best friend
91. Great beds in hotel rooms
92. Finishing a journal
93. Picking out a new journal
94. The first sip of a really great glass of wine
95. Massages
96. Chuck Jones cartoons
97. Pottery
98. When Harry Met Sally
99. Art supply stores in New York City
100. Trees

37 COMMENTS ADD A COMMENT
  • Elizabeth Komins

    Love your list! Here are some things that bring me delight I’d like to ad:
    ~ The sound and feel of a purring kitty in your lap.
    ~ Watching dolphins play in the ocean.
    ~ The laughter of a child.
    ~ Listening to the sound of ocean waves late at night.
    ~ Brass wind chimes in a gentle breeze.
    ~ The sound of crickets and katydids on a late summer night.
    ~ Hearing an owl in the woods.

  • Simone’s Butterfly

    I have recently discovered the delights of making lists of 100. I joined a swap based of Kerri Smiths 100 ideas, this led to an blog post written by Luciano Passuello, “The List of 100 is a powerful technique you can use to generate ideas, clarify your thoughts, uncover hidden problems or get solutions to any specific questions you’re interested in. ” Tackle
    Any Issue With a List of 100

    Which led me to start a swap based on this idea – 126 people participated in the first swap – listing 100 things they are grateful for.

    A few posted their list here href=”http://listof100.wordpress.com/”> Lists of 100

  • Robin

    Pretty cool list. I can add to it:
    1. Watching my daughters discover new things
    2. An unexpected kiss or show of affection from my wife
    3. The sound of a waterfall
    4. Fresh strawberries
    5. John Prine concerts
    6. A bowl of gumbo from Mikee’s restraunt (Orange Beach Al)
    7. Helping a friend with a tough job
    8. Seeing unexpected wildlife (ie. deer, bear, fox…)
    9. The smell of hay in a barn
    10.Fireworks over water

  • Jillian

    Was recently introduced to this blog and I LOVE it!

    -I delight in watching my 6 yr old sleep

    -the wonderful feeling of crawling into a fresh-made bed with sheets that were hung outside to dry

  • thirzafoefoe

    Recycled paper. Bed wetting. Breakfast!
    Riding on Mother Earth’s hip’s listening to blended fantastical melodies, once a bird landed on my head. Small sparrow tattle tailing about the coffee I split and didn’t wipe up. Melting snow, quenching the earth’s thirst, losing something and then finding it, watching the action of discovery, feeling the sign’s of growth taking place in every moment around the globe, and in the everyday,
    and
    a glass of water.

  • Elaine

    A kitten purring as she’s falling a sleep laid on your chest! It almost feels like you can purr too!

    Owls hooting outside my bedroom window at night (I wish I could see with night vision!)

  • stacey l

    My dog chasing the ocean waves
    The perfect photo spot
    Being with my entire family all together
    Getting great results on infertility tests
    Watching my puppy walk around with the stuffed animal in her mouth
    A really great book
    Having all my student complete their homework
    Watching the sunrise over the beach
    Getting an email from a long lost friend
    Hearing some great news
    Finishing another scrapbook
    Day 3 of “No Complaints”
    Seeing all of my student still wearing their purple bracelets
    “Grace” – my word for the year
    Sleeping late

    That’s all for now! Thanks Christine for inspiring my start!

  • feefifoto

    This is a delightful list. Add The Phantom Tollbooth, and if you’ve never read it put down this computer RIGHT NOW and go get it. Go on — scoot.

  • Sahnya

    Cardinals singing in the branches near your bedroom window as you awake.

    The look of an elder when they respect you.

    The unconditional love you gift yourself in meditation practice.

    The transformation from fear to fearlessness in a student.

    The smell of homemade soup cooking on the stove.

  • Colin

    Watching my two year-old daughter dance and sing when she doesn’t know I’m looking.

  • Elisabeth

    I might steal this idea. Thanks! It’s so positive.

    And I love art supply stores in NYC too.

  • Caralu

    I’d have to include:

    pressing my ear to my cat’s belly when she’s purring – the feel and the sound are emminently delightful.

  • barb

    red shouldered hawk looking for food on the ground
    horses munching hay and carrots
    the sound of walking on gravel
    pine warbler so yellow it takes your breath
    carolina wren as my alarm clock
    no pileateds today but do they ever take my breath away.
    thanks bb

  • Sylvia C.

    Super-fantabulous list, Christine.

    I am delighted by many of the same things.

    I might add these two, I suppose…

    Singing in one’s car (and in the shower)
    Dancing…(like EVERYONE’s watching 😉

    best wishes in 08

    Sylvia C.

  • Kathy

    Awesome list. Man of my favs are on yours but here are a few more….
    – the sound of david coming back in the house after he’s been away
    – new words and phrases my three year old niece makes up (such as saying “Do!” instead of yes)
    – seeing a puppy in the elevator of my apt building
    – the view of the sunset over the catskill mountains from our back deck
    – the sound of David making the coffee in the morning
    – meeting up with a nephew and his virtual pet online in Webkinz world
    – opening the mailbox and finding Christmas cards inside
    – zero balances on the credit card accounts
    – dark belgian chocolate anything!
    – making a new recipe and it turning out even better than it sounded
    – truffles and truffle oil
    – getting an unexpected appreciation note from my client
    – watching puppies play
    – candlelit dinners
    – seeing the bride come down the aisle in any wedding
    – my sister (3 time hogdkins survivor) getting clean test results back
    – the peace of sharing the underwater world with beautiful fish and other sealife while snorkeling or scubadiving
    – hitting a great golf shot
    – being silly
    – finishing a project
    – singing songs with harmony
    – waking up in a hotel room and seeing the Sydney Opera House out the window
    – spotting an egret, a heron or an eagle out the window on the train ride to NYC
    – the realization that those little coincidences aren’t coincidences at all

    And so many more but I gotta go back to work!

  • MindFul MiMi

    Christine, your list inspired me to post on my own blog: read here
    http://mindfulmimi.blogspot.com/2008/01/we-find-delight-in-beauty-and-happiness.html
    Thanks for sharing that.

  • Leigh

    my dog snoring on his bed after a long walk
    taking my kid to vote for his very first time!
    dinner with friends and family
    a good night’s sleep
    hanging laundry out on the line
    watching my dog and cat greet each other, nose to nose

    My sister chose “delight” as her word this year!
    I chose “receive” (as in “graciously accept” what comes to me)

  • Hagit

    “Friends” reruns
    First coffee in the morning
    Watching the sea in winter
    Summer sun
    watching dogs run around in the park
    Good wine
    Making the simplest-ever dishes/snacks that taste like childhood days
    And so much more!
    Thanks! I really am going to make my own list.

  • Stephanie

    West Wing reruns rock! I think seasons 1-4 each deserve their own spot on a list of 100 delightful things 🙂

    Just found your blog (via Jess who commented above) and am so inspired by your energy and positive spirit. Thank you. I chose two words for 2008: Acceptance and Gentleness.

    Adding to the list of delightful things:
    Wild blackberries
    Returning to your honeymoon spot 10 years later
    Taking a great photo

  • lisa

    thanks again for the nudge, Christine!
    my list is in the works, here are five immediate ones…

    1.watching David Letterman have his face shaved on his show – altho i LOVE beards, it was cool to witness his Trust
    2.hope & curiosity (ok, i admit that’s two)
    3.how my wonderdog, Aslan *allowed* our houseguest Winston (the dog of a neighbor) to FiNalLy join us on the bed last night
    4.Sumatra
    5.roasted eggplant topped with fresh goat cheese & herbs that survived the freeze

  • Christine Kane

    wow! These are terrific! I feel the spark of all this energy and creativity… Thanks for these. They made me tear-y!

  • Meg

    A strong “leaf & such”-scent filled breeze on a fall day
    A purring cat jumping on the bed to snuggle by my head as I sleep
    Hearing my beagle snore as he sleeps
    Waking to see my chocolate lab’s big brown eyes staring at me when i wake up
    Car’s stopping to let me cross the crosswalk
    Witnessing and feeling the joy a tennis ball can bring 2 playful pups
    A morning where I have gotten 9 hours sleep AND I get to the office early
    Hearing a good friend’s 4 year old laughing as he ran through the kitchen into my arms after he returned from an unexpected, risky hospital visit (it was the first time a child’s laughter made my break out into happy tears. I’ll treasure that moment for as long as i live)
    Hearing my nieces call me “Tanta” (Norweigan for “Aunt”; My sister’s and my Tanta was a wonderful woman. I look forward to following in her legacy)
    Taking in how the pine trees bend this-way and that-way under the weight of the snow
    Enjoying the quiet colors of the first clear-blue sky after a lot of snowfall

    Thanks for sharing your list Christine.

    It got me writing. That goes on the list, too 🙂

  • Marisa

    Thanks so much for giving me a way out of a little spiritual hole I was digging for myself. How to open myself to the creativity that the Universe yearns to channel through me – how about cultivate a little delight? Wait, it’s not about cultivation, is it? It’s about opening one’s eyes to the world.

    And about hearing my husband talking to the dog in the Cookie Monster voice.
    And crying at the happy parts of movies.
    And smiling so much your face hurts.
    And watching a sunset you know you’ll never forget.

    You so helped me make sense of things today at my little corner of the blog world.

  • Jess

    This is such a great idea! Thank you. I just found your blog, and I love what a positive spirit you have! My first five are:

    1. Multicolored Christmas lights in a dark room
    2. The scent (and taste) of a warm cup of Earl Grey
    3. Lit candles: eucalyptus-mint, berry, hazelnut
    4. Snowflakes
    5. Pretty stationery, or any blank paper at all

    I also chose two words for my 2008: CREATIVITY and HEALTH.

  • Petra

    Dark chocolate

    Coming into my warm comforting home when it’s bitterly cold outside

    Finding money when I run

    The smell of orchard apples

    Lightning

    Unexpected riches

    Cooking with my sister

    Unexpected invitations

    The smell of gasoline

    My cat curling up with me

    A great haircut

    The sound of traffic

    Long hot showers

  • ccmhats

    -my yarn stash, organized by color

    -blueberries fresh off the bush

    -the feeling of my skate blades carving into freshly zamboni-ed ice

    -Spirographs

    -backflips from the diving board or on the trampoline (confront the fear!)

    -tapioca pudding with rhubarb sauce

    -fresh sugar snap peas from the vine

    -winter bonfires that toast one side while the other is freezing

    -the yumminess of melted marshmallows in my hot cocoa

    -the hand-thrown, wood-fired mug I drink my cocoa from

    -free-falling into new snow to make snow angels

    -giggling children

  • ChickiePam

    For today:
    -having my best friend from Atlanta visit with me for a few days
    -my new dog, a one year old rescue with no manners whatsoever and lots of energy
    -my best friend is a dog trainer and has the new dog minding his manners in only one lesson!
    -chicken sounds brak! brak! when they lay an egg and all of the other chickens cheer her on
    -a balmy day in the middle of winter
    -puppy breath since my best friend brought her puppy with her
    -playing poker with my 12 year old daughter and watching her beat the pants off of the adults
    -a beautiful blue sky
    -the plants in my office
    -my office mate’s scratchy beard when he hugged me hello this afternoon
    -a lovely client who fell asleep on my table (massage therapist) and twitched as she relaxed
    -sitting in the sauna and feeling the sweat run off
    -the delight on my daughter’s face when I gave her an early birthday present of the jacket that she has been wanting, but they didn’t have it in her size (but I found it online and ON SALE!)
    there’s more, but I gotta go visit with my children and friend!

  • Nora

    wind

    reuniting with old friends

    the smell in the air when the seasons are changing

    comfy slippers

    a cup of hot tea that takes away the chill of an afternoon outside in the snow

    used bookstores

  • NancyCz

    cooking for people

    writing silly haiku

    finally pulling up in front of my mom’s house after the 10 hour drive

    foggy sunrises

    Thanks, Christine, for a break from work to remember what’s REALLY important!

  • Hanna

    What a beautiful list, it’s like poetry!

    * A glass of water after being sick throwing up 24 hours. The best taste ever!

  • Marilyn

    Thanks for this, Christine–I needed the inspiration on this day I return to work after 16 days off for the holidays. 🙂 My list is up!

  • Kelsey

    Feeling your baby move.

    The look on the three-year-old’s face when she feels the baby move.

    An unexpected phone call from an old friend.

    The post office. (Seriously! We can gripe, but if you think about what goes on there, it’s amazing.)

  • Christine Kane

    thanks anna! (we posted at the same time methinks!) i’m delighted by all birds – so as many birds as we can get on this list will be great! (pileated woodpeckers)

  • Christine Kane

    you go, sarah! make your list. it’ll make you smile a lot.

    thanks laine — i love making black beans too. (i’d love to grow them, pick them, and THEN make them. I’ll bet that’s something.)

  • Anna Garrett

    Hugs

    Goldfinches and hummingbirds

    Drinking coffee on cool mornings on the deck at our mountain house

    Reading the newspaper in bed

  • Laine

    The coffee I am drinking right this minute.

    The dog curled up at my feet.

    The grass-fed beef in my freezer.

    Making black beans from scratch.

    Ocean swimming.

  • Sarah

    Wow!!

    You just inspired me to start my list! How utterly delightful! Thanks for all the magic! With love and delight! (can’t use that word enough – not a bad thing…eh?) 🙂 Sarah