What’s Your Pleasure?
Pleasure connects us to ourselves. To choose pleasure, we have to ask what we really need, want and desire. This is what truly gives us pleasure, not what we think ‘should’ give us pleasure, or what we do out of habit, loyalty and many more ‘reasons’. What feeds your soul? What raises your energy? What makes you feel alive?
Cast your mind over the last year of your life. What are you already doing that brings you pleasure? Make a list of everything from the big (work, hobbies, etc.), through to the smaller daily pleasures (sitting in the park at lunchtime, eating good food, reading a book). Don’t edit or censor. Write everything down. Seeing this full list of pleasures in your life you may notice themes, or gain insights, into what will bring you more pleasure.
Next make a list of the pleasures you would love to bring into your life but don’t currently do. Rather than writing this list from a head-place, create time to connect to your soul such as meditating or being in nature. Again, write everything down – don’t censor or edit. What excites you? What are you curious about? What tickles your soul? What turns you on? Write down everything. What would you love to be doing on a daily or weekly basis? What hobbies and activities would you like to be doing or learning? What experiences would you like to be creating whether traveling, new work, relationships, etc? Consider the five levels of your being – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and sexual.
So you now have a list of all the wonderful things in your life that bring you pleasure. They not be many. They may feel small. Yet it is a gift to notice and appreciate them and from these small seeds, more pleasure can grow.
For the pleasures that you would like to bring into your life choose one or two that you can start doing with ease in the coming week. Even today. Create time to commit to them. This may be something really small, such as taking time for a relaxing bath. For the bigger pleasures, what is the most important to you? What is the next smallest step you can take to making it happen? When you have done that, what’s the next? Many small steps lead to big changes.
Review your pleasure list regularly. It may be every month, quarter or year. Having this list connects you to what you really love. Following your pleasures is the fertile ground for a rich and fulfilling life. When you deny your pleasures, you deny yourself. When you feed your pleasures, you feed yourself and discover more of who you are. The more pleasure you have, whether it is enjoying work or spending time doing something you love, the more energy you have. More energy enriches all areas of your life. Pleasure is fuel for the soul.
Please do share your reflections and thoughts after reading this – I’d love to hear them and I look forward to next month, when we will ask the question “What gets in the way of your pleasure?” and how to transform this.
Until next time,
Sarah Rose Bright
