To ask what little joys you find in life?

currently blackberry picking is my priority, free food, lots of delicious crumble!

Today's small joys include paddling in the sea in my knickers and being invited to pick a bunch of sweet peas from.next door neighbours garden. They smell heavenly

Today's small joys include paddling in the sea in my knickers and being invited to pick a bunch of sweet peas from.next door neighbours garden. They smell heavenly

My little joys include my dogs (especially when they are smiling at me!), a day off from getting up to an alarm, a soothing bath/shower after a long day, doing ALL of the laundry on my first day off and getting it hung up outside (it means I don't have to think about it again on my days off!), a quiet evening with a documentary/craft project/book, trying out something new (I've been doing lots of arts and crafts things this year), seeing butterflies and bees in the garden (I buy plants based on their preferences, with bonus points if they're perennials!), admiring nice gardens on my way into town (there is a stretch of houses that look like their owners are engaged in Competitive Gardening), playing the piano, baking and not having to wash up now that I have a dishwasher...

It would appear that all of my little joys include everything apart from work and enforced socialisation with other people 😂

Peeling off my workout gear after my morning workout, and getting into the shower knowing I am about to have breakfast and a frothy coffee.

Walking. Feeling the sun or wind or rain on my face as I power along thinking how much good I'm doing my physical and mental health. Then slowing down to walk in the woods and really seeing and hearing everything. I think its such a beautiful world and I'm lucky to be able to move about and see and hear it.

I had a diagnosis of severe osteoarthritis in both my hips just over a year ago.
This resulted in me having to give up my 30 year long career and becoming completely dependent on other people to leave the house.
I had become very depressed and lethargic and only finding pleasure in the company of my children, grandchildren and my 4 cats.
The amount of ‘stuff’ in the house was really getting me down, I could have just shipped it off the the charity shop but as I can only do a bit of admin work from home now really needed the money.
Encouraged by a friend I decided to try selling some of the stuff on Vinted.
10 minutes later I had sold a blouse that had been hanging (and never worn) in my wardrobe for about 20 years 😮
I have now sold over £300 worth and often look around the house thinking “what else can I sell?” 😁
There is now much less ‘stuff’ cluttering up the house, sorting everything out has spurred me to get rid of things I really don’t want/need and the charity shop has done very well as well.
Retrieving 10 bags of old clothes from the loft (don’t judge me!!!!) has also resulted in several new items of clothing that I had forgotten about!
I have spent some of the money buying myself a few new bits of clothing which have made me feel a bit more confident when I do get to go out.
The rest I have of course spent on my 3 grandchildren!!
The thrill I get when I go onto my account and see I’ve sold something had cheered me up no end!

This is a great post @PeapodBurgundy thanks for starting - I hope your tough time passes soon and you've got some inspiration from this thread - I think I have.

currently struggling with a condition that gives chronic pain so also in a position of having to look to the positives - and things that used to "give joy" are currently no go for me physically. (like exercise)

My little joys:

My Boyfriend (honestly he's the best thing that's happened to me)
Photo memories that pop up on my phone
Meeting up spontaneously with my friends
A fox visiting my garden (i have a wildlife camera to see what they are up to)
My car
Eating the tomatoes and lettuce I've grown myself.

A walk in the evening with my old man.
Seeing family.
A laugh with friends.
Toast with lemon curd.

Cheese on toast
a cup of tea and a slice of cake
a walk
a swim
flowers
an indulgent buy
a fresh bed
a new pair of socks
a home manicure / blow dry
a play on radio 4
peace and quiet / alone time
cooking for pleasure not household
a cocktail / mocktail
a black and white film from 1940s

Finders crispy pancakes
Jalapeño poppers
Sometimes I get the really expensive strawberries from the farmers market and that always cheers me up because they do taste better
Going on the trampoline (I always wanted one as a kid and now we have one for our kids)
Being near a body of water
Sometimes I look up my childhood home or houses like it on zoopla and I think “could be worse, you could still live here”
Going to TK Max and buying a novelty mug

Walks
Nice food
Comforting TV shows
Coffee in the garden

A cup of tea
A good book
All my electrical devices being charged 😂 (this is weird I know)

A coffee and some toast with marmalade.
Watching the seagulls flying overhead, their snowy white bodies against a sunlit blue sky.
Hearing the skylark singing in the field near us.
Trees
Growing a few vegetables and herbs.
Tidying the garden.
Chatting to the cats.

Try the Mini crossword too if you really want to start your day in a rage with the Americans idiot way of spelling!

First Caffeine of the day.
Weather being good enough to hang the washing outside.
Being old enough that I no longer give two hoots what anyone else thinks.

Yes! I'm old and I have so much good stuff I was saving for a special occasion - but every day now is a special occasion. I'm wearing a fabulous pair of trousers I was saving for best. And I couldn't be bothered to cook or fuss when it was 'just' me - those days are gone.

Learning to crochet has also been amazing for me during v stressful or down times. It keeps my hands busy and takes the edge off any mental spiralling. The Woolly Hugs folks here are always up for a bit of help too…so you get to help out and gather nice friends as well)….!

I had to do something similar with a swift once, it was amazing! To this day I am (quite obviously) telling people about it :-D

OP, helping someone/something gives you that feeling of dopamine - rescuing swifts, giving out lollies, feeding the birds!
Also learning something new - even just a general knowledge fact a day.

And sitting outside, watching birds or not - also calms/rejuvenates.

An early morning run or walk just after dawn when the sun is rising
My cats sitting on my knee
My DD leaning on my shoulder to watch TV
A good book
A podcast on the way to work

A bath. I live in a rented house, and the bathtub is humongous. I rarely use it as it takes forever to fill. But once in a while, a delicious soak in the tub is truly special. There is a Velux window over the bath, so I lie there, watching the clouds go by and feel at peace.

I wonder if I’m one of the persons to receive an ice cream from you. Last year sitting on a bench outside Iceland and a little girl asked if I’d like one as there was one left in the box and it would melt by the time they got it home. Her mum was waiting a little bit away eating hers. I said thank you lovely little lady and took the lolly. Little girl skipped away to her mummy. Made my day

Watching the birds on my garden feeders.

Seeing ducklings or lambs while I am walking

Line dried bedding.

Bin day, I'm a bit odd.

Walking my dog everyday by the river in the sunshine... I have had a tough year but being outside in the fresh air and closely watching the changing seasons each day whilst observing the wildlife around me, calms my anxiety and makes me appreciate life so much more.

Choir practice
Monday nights on TV - Mastermind, Only Connect and University Challenge one after the other: try to shout out my answer before the contestant does!

Eating the free blackberries that I've picked.
Hot Sunny Days.
Watching a good game of Sport like the women's Euros.