I have the habit of collecting moments of delight and wonder. These are quiet, unassuming encounters that uplift my soul and reveal the brightness of life. Sometimes I chance upon a small kindness that renews my faith in others; other times I am tickled by amusement. None of these gifts arrive with grand proclamation or earth shattering revelation. Yet, in their very ordinariness, beauty reveals itself in ways both splendid and abundant. Here are a few samples of delights that have brightened my days. I invite the reader to look at each moment anew and appreciate the goodness that surrounds us.
I am lying supine in the dentist’s chair. Slobber on my face, my jaws jammed open by a rubber stopper between my teeth. All speech reduced to “um” and “ah.” The screeching drill carves my teeth and frays my nerves. The procedure is sometimes painful, and always uncomfortable. Finally, a much needed pause. The dentist turns to her tools and readies herself for the next part of the procedure. My eyes are trained on the TV neatly tucked into the ceiling tiles. It’s an episode of Modern Family. The comedy is compelling, and soon I find myself chuckling. However, laughing in a dentist’s chair with your mouth pried open is itself a farce, something between coughing and grunting. Thus, the comedy doubles down on itself. Modern Family is funny – but laughing with the show while undergoing a dental procedure is hilarity indeed.
The silence of my apartment is ruptured by a series of rapid vibrations – intermittent bursts of noise, like an electric drill knocking on metal. The neighbours must be doing some home-improvement, I surmise. The next morning, I hear another burst of drilling. I knock on my neighbour’s door and ask if she has heard any drilling noises. No, she has heard no such thing, neither is she doing home renovation, no drilling into the walls. I return home, puzzled by the source of this mysterious noise. The next day, while at my computer, I hear the rapid-fire drilling once again. I hurry upstairs to my rooftop balcony, eager to learn the source of the noise. Alas, perched on the metal casing on the corner of a wall, a mischievous culprit reveals itself: a Northern Flicker. Its red cheek and flecks of black are striking against the sky. The rogue freezes at the sight of me: you caught me! But what are you going to do about it? I freeze as well. In that brief moment, we are linked by our gaze. I approach the bird, who instantly sinks to its claws and launches into flight, as if to say: Oh no, you don’t! I rush to the building’s edge, the flicker is nowhere in sight.
At the check-out line at the grocery store, a child sits in a shopping cart, peaking out behind a box of cereal. At the edge of toddlerhood, the child reveals her big blue eyes, and then promptly drops beneath the box. A few seconds pass, she surfaces, and disappears again. This time, her vanishing act is accompanied by a giggle – a rolling chuckle that parts the clouds. The game has started, and I happily oblige. I cover my face with my hands and watch for the child’s eyes. Soon, we fall in sync. She appears from behind the box, and I appear from behind my hands. She topples over in laughter, but the delight is all mine.
The rainstorm has left the street soaked, the smell of soil and asphalt wafting in the summer morning, the air redolent with petrichor. I come across puddles of rainwater, which have gathered in the unevenness of the concrete sidewalk. The water’s still surface broadcasts the maples branches above, and the silvery sky behind the leaves. A robin cuts across the foliage. The scene is nothing short of magic. A puddle is a portal – one looks at the ground and gazes into the sky. What is down is up. In this unassuming puddle, I discover the wholeness of everything – everything above me is included in this little pond of rainwater.
I am lining up for an ice cream cone at a popular creamery. A bright scorching day has brought the crowds to cue outside this store. From the elderly to children, everyone is eager for an icy treat. Miles, my 13 year-old Australian Shepherd, is panting in the sun. I will not be able to take him into the store with me. As the line moves, I ask the family behind me to hold my place in line. “Is it okay if I stay with my dog out here, and resume my place in line when it’s my turn?” I ask. The woman, who spoke for her family, replied: “Of course! Would you like me to come out here and let you know that it’s your turn?” I said that it’s okay, that I would be able to see through the window. Ten minutes pass and I see that the family is almost at the counter. I tether Miles by a post and walk into the store. “Perfect timing!” the woman tells me as I walk up to the counter. The friendliness of the exchange, the courtesy accorded to a stranger, was sweeter than the ice cream itself.
An Asian family of four marvels at the majestic scenery of cresting mountains arrayed with snow, rising over waters the colour of jade. They gasp in awe. The middle-aged father flags down a young couple, hands over his phone and asks them to take a photo. The couple happily obliges. The family quickly composes themselves. One, two, three, CHEEZE! The father smiles and nods at the young couple, who return the phone. The father offers the same favour, gesturing the couple for a photo. The young woman smiles and agrees. The young man hands over his phone, and the couple hold each other close, the young man suddenly plants a kiss on the girl’s cheek. A picture-perfect moment. Everyone chuckles. The man returns the phone. They thank each other and wave goodbye.
These exchanges reveal who we are as strangers. We are neither devious nor depraved, not dubious agents to be guarded with suspicion. We are fellow creatures who share in this journey of life, who happily partake with others the goodness of a moment. We know that gladness expands when we share it, and so we extend to each other a loveliness that lifts all of us. Quotidian rhythms often obscure the delights that lurk in plain sight, blunting our senses and draining colour from vision. A puddle on the street can be a portal to wonder. Encountering child who launches into a game of peek-a-boo is one of the supreme joys of being alive. The flicker punctures predictability. Strangers who offer to hold our place in line demonstrate a camaraderie that countermands the isolation and loneliness of modern society. Each instance of ordinary kindness, ordinary beauty, is significant beyond the event itself. By tuning our eyes to the delights of everyday life, little splendours begin to fill our day, and we soon find ourselves swept by gratitude. Thus, we appreciate our life exactly as it is.