The Secrets to Happiness: Secret #17

Do you like chocolate? Cheese? Go get a piece of your favorite. Put it in your mouth. Chew. Don't swallow. Let it coat your tongue. Taste it. Enjoy it. Experience it.

Do you like baked goods? Go to a bakery. Before ordering anything, take a deep breath. Experience the smells of the bakery. The dough, yeast, wheat. Let it fill your nostrils. Buy something warm. Tear it open and inhale. Smell it. Enjoy it. Experience it.

Do the same thing with a favorite song or piece of music. Don't go to the next song or work. Listen and then keep quiet. Enjoy the sound and the memory of the sound. Feel the tingle caused by the voice or the music. (I loved listening to my maternal grandmother talk to my father in the morning over coffee while I laid in bed in another room.)

Pet an animal or hold a loved one. Feel the skin or fur and the warmth, the heartbeat, the respiration. Hold it gently and think about how lucky we are to have another in our life that allows for this intimacy.

Look at something that you find beautiful. Another person, a building, a plant, a view. Take it all in, the color, the lighting, the angles, details. Take pleasure in each aspect.

Or combine two or more senses as you live the not-so-secret secret to happiness:

Savor something (at least once a day)

Slow down and enjoy something each day. Make it a habit.

It's supposed to rain here tomorrow. I'm going to spend 20 minutes savoring the rain.

Oddly, the recorded voice of Lyndon Johnson, former President of the United States, sends me into extreme relaxation, no matter what the topic or his mood. It has a similar effect that Bob Ross has on me.

Tell me about something that you like to savor (I understand that sex or expensive alcohols can fall into this category, and that's fine, but you don't need to share, we'll assume those...) or something that you plan on savoring soon.