So many tiny reasons to be cheerful. I honestly think the art of enjoying life is to appreciate the small stuff. In the morning I wake up and brew fresh coffee and heat and froth milk, Then, whatever the weather, I go outside and feed the wildlife and take a moment to look at the sky and inhale the air and feel the breeze on my face, hear the birdsong, check out how nature is doing this season. Then I put on some music - usually gentle piano but sometimes lively rock, and stand by the kitchen door watching the birds come down to feed while i drink the coffee. It's a gorgeous start to every day.
I take pleasure in choosing the right product for a bath - depending on my mood - herbal or lemon verbena shower if I need to feel energised, radox salts after the gym, rose oil if I want a long soak while I read a book.
I love going for a walk and spotting how the world has changed - trees in bud, bluebells or primroses and crocuses coming up in the woods, or autumn leaves and mushrooms, or a frost. Or ducklings in the local pond, fox cubs checking out our garden. All the turning of the seasons.
I love seasonal activity too - building up a log fire and chatting around it with friends, or just staring into the shifting flames if I am alone (or just into a candle flame) Cooking stews and soups in winter, making elaborate salads in summer. Reading ghost stories, curled up in bed in winter or lounging on the grass reading a classic in summer.
I love spotting weird and wonderful things going on in the world around me. I once saw a guard get off a train at Clapham Junction, run up to the platform assistant, spin her round and they waltzed for about 30 seconds before he hopped back on, she blew the whistle and off they went. Stuff like that makes me so happy.
Can you just add a few sensory pleasures to each day - small things - but focus on them. Choose some music to put on when you wake up or as you prep dinner. Think what you want to drink first thing - fresh coffee, iced juice, fruit tea? Pay attention to what your body wants - a stretch? Fresh air? Fast exercise? A long bath? Be particular about what you watch on TV. Choose programmes that amuse you, inspire you - favourite old films and comedies, or intriguing documentaries. Not too much doom and gloom crime.Make a list of things that used to bring you joy - from childhood to recently, and do them again. Make a list of things you always thought you'd want to do or try before you die - even if right now you don't care about any of them - at some point you did - and do some of the easiest ones.
Connect with the community in a way that you feel makes a genuine difference, whether that's joining a litter-picking or community gardening task force, or helping at a food bank or building a little library from an old cabinet, putting it in a busy area and filling it with books you don't want for others to take.
Bit by bit, the texture of everyday life becomes richer. I have to make an effort. My natural inclination as I get older is to reach out to no one, stay home and watch whatever rubbish is on TV. But this month I have made myself travel hundreds of miles to visit family, been out to theatre and dance shows, done dry Jan, met up with old friends, booked a holiday, been on some gorgeous walks. It would have been easier just to lie on the sofa when I'm not working, watching TV. But I do a lot of that anyway, and it is the rest that brings joy, not the same-old, same-old.