I picked up Ingrid F. Lee’s book Joyful during a dark mood. I was feeling heavy with fear, and I wanted to bring some lightness in. I am still reading the book (It’s divided into chapters like Energy, Freedom, Play, Magic). But it’s already nudged me into thinking of the small delights that are within arm’s reach.
I started with ice creams.
Not only is a new ice cream now on my weekly shopping list, I also got waffle cones. Then, I found a list of local ice cream shops online, which is now on my Small Adventures Summer Bucket List.
Then, I went to watch a local Fourth of July fireworks show. I love fireworks, but don’t always make the time & effort to watch them. While this one only lasted a few minutes & the parking was a hassle, the real pleasure came later when I came home and watched a YouTube video of the White House fireworks celebration in D.C. set to music. Something about going out and actually, physically seeing the fireworks ignited the awe-feeling part inside me. It’s the kind of magic I feel when I look through a telescope.
In the book, Ingrid asks: “How do tangible things create intangible joy?”
The book is not making a case for becoming more materialistic, but about asking: What are the small, everyday things that bring me joy? The emphasis on things as a lens is because Ingrid Lee has a design background. (She was a Design Director at the global innovation firm IDEO).
After I did some fun little things after reading Joyful, I discovered Ingrid’s website. I loved her thoughtful posts on difficult questions like how to feel joy in the middle of anger. But because she is a designer and because Joyful is about the tangible, there are also links to some lovely, but expensive things.
I wondered if other people would miss the point Joyful makes. I think Ingrid’s purpose is to nudge us into thinking about small, achievable joys.
Her work made me think of when I was a small kid and my naani, my maternal grandmother, had us kids make little plates and cups from the kind of kneaded dough that Indian rotis (flatbreads) are made of. Afterwards, we put them on the window ledge to bake in the hot Delhi sun. I felt such delight making them even though these make-shift miniatures didn’t even last a few days. Pretty soon, they started cracking.
But the sheer joy of a tangible, creative act and seeing these little creations come to life felt so wonderful!
And recently, when I saw this heart-melting video about a bulldog who loves to skateboard & how his family got him a “proper skateboard” (yes, he is a very pampered little dog), it made me think of Ingrid’s work. This little dog, just like all of us, has particular interests. Getting something that lets him follow them gives him joy!
And so, I thought of all the little things that make me happy. Some of these I do, and some I don’t allow myself:
- Bubbles — the kind that kids blow
- Kites — the kind that kids fly
- Really well-made notebooks
- Hummingbird feeders
- Ice cream
- Beautiful music (I am counting this as a tangible)
- Fireworks
- Art supplies
For different people I know, giant puzzles, plants, hula hoops and sparkly earrings do the same thing. There is happiness to be had in the tangible that has a thread of the sacred woven in it. (Here are a few of my favorite things for sensitives.)
Ingrid talks about this in Joyful:
“I began to see the world as a reservoir of positivity that I could turn to at any time. I found that certain places have a kind of buoyancy — a bright corner cafe, a local yarn shop, a block of brownstones whose window boxes overflow with blooms — and I started changing my routines to visit them more often.”
This reminds me of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way & her idea of doing weekly artist dates. Every week, you try something fun (on your own) that nourishes your inner, creative child. I have done things like making vegetable ink, making collages & going to museums on my past artist dates.
Artist dates are FUN. They are playful, sensory, and tangible. They are about cutting things up, or turning them over, or collecting what others think is trash to make something beautiful.
If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out Ingrid’s work. She also has a TED talk you can watch!
Ritu Kaushal is the author of The Empath’s Journey, a book for sensitives and empaths, and a Silver Medal awardee at the Rex Karamveer Chakra awards, co-presented by the United Nations in India.
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