I was listening to the radio2 weeks ago and there was a book review. I was so engrossed in the interview, I did not catch the name of the book or the author. I only know the subject, delightful. Hopefully someone out there knows what the book is and can share the title in the comments. However, it got me to thinking about the things that I find delightful. Top of the list is my family, puppies and dogs, then friends and followed by my hobbies.

But those are some pretty high-level ideas for delight. I had to peel back the onion to understand why these bring delight. I’m on the road again for work. This particular trip takes about 7 hours to get to the job site. I could look at the pain of the drive, but instead I thought about what was delightful. 

We have had some very unusual weather this winter, but the result is along the drive, the poppies were in bloom. Entire mountain sides covered in a beautiful golden color. Followed by a lot of green. It was a nice change in scenery, and I have driven this route several dozen times over the past year. The photos are from the same trip, just last week. So, there was quite the change in the landscape.

But I wanted to look at my hobbies, not just the scenery (no pun intended). I have several hobbies that I enjoy doing. I almost have too many at times and can’t devote time to several of them. But if I run them down, it looks something like this:

• Drawing (ink on paper)
• Hiking
• Computer Programming
• Reading
• Historical Research
• Watching Movies (yes, it is a hobby when your collection is over 500)
• Home Improvement
• Wood Working
• Guitar (this one has suffered the most, I have not played my guitar in 10 years)
• Running

If I had to choose my top three, the ones I always find time for. It would be Drawing, Watching Movies and Running. I like to carve out a little time and do these things. This may shock you, but the best part of the day is the morning. I have a lot of energy. When the weather is nice, I will run my 3 miles in the morning. The only time it is not nice, is when it drops below 45degrees. That is not very often in Tucson.

The same goes for Drawing or Computer Programming. I have a burst of creativity first thing when I get up. I think my mind organizes everything while I sleep. Of course, it does not take long to organize a salt and pepper shaker or three Legos. But by the end of the day, my mind has turned to mush. So the good is, I try to start my day with delightful things. I’m not a coffee drinker, so I don’t need that to get going. But get me wrong, I have off days, but I try get going by leaning on delight. When I’m winding down, that is Movie time. It is a nice way to end the day. Or even break it up on the weekends.

As you can you see, these are my delights. Some may refer their hobbies as vices. But if you are doing them to take away from things that are truly important, it will also take away the delight in doing them. Just a small challenge, go out, find one thing today that is delightful. Hopefully you will find a way to make today a little better.

…and now for something completely different.
Blueberries will not ripen until they are picked.