making lists on a rainy day

I find that when I’m down, it sometimes helps to make a list of things to perk me up. I can’t say that this was something that I came up with on my own, however. I’ll never forget in AP World Literature my senior year in high school when we read “The Pillow Book” by Lady Sei Shonagon, a courtesan during the Heian era in Japan. Miss Shonagon’s book was a mostly personal endeavor (akin to a diary) comprised of lists and musings on court life and her counterparts. In any case, one of our assignments was to come up with our own lists…an activity I’ve embraced ever since.

The general mood of the office is one of thick malaise, hanging heavy on my shoulders like a burly winter coat. The air outside is also heavy—suffused with melancholy, pregnant with laziness, and ripe with rain—weighing on my soul like a sopping wet blanket.

While there is no doubt that happiness truly comes from within, there’s no harm in giving your mood a nudge in the right direction with a little homage to those simple creature comforts. My many thanks to Sei for her keen inspiration.


Things that make my heart beat faster

A cup of tea
A brand new outfit
Posy coloured blush
Quatchi
Humming La Vie En Rose
Reciting the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by TS Eliot
Curling up in my Snuggie
The last five minutes of my Bikram yoga practice
Penguins
Kumquat Dry Soda
A scalding hot bubble bath with a glass of wine and a trashy magazine to keep me company
Receiving packages in the mail
The smell of Spring
Eating candy from the bulk bins while grocery shopping
Puff and Pi
Earl Grey Soy Lattes with a dollop of caramel sauce
Red eye flights
Dateline murder mysteries
Listening to a thunderstorm from under the covers
Kind strangers


Please note this is by no means a complete or immutable list.