Exeter, Devon UK • Mar 29, 2024 • VOL XII

Exeter, Devon UK • [date-today] • VOL XII
Home Lifestyle Simple Pleasures

Simple Pleasures

5 mins read
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Simple Pleasures

Danielle Darrah highlights those simple pleasures of ordinary life that we’ve only come to notice in lockdown

It has come to just over a month that our nation has been in isolation, lockdown and social distancing measures becoming tighter and stricter by the week as the NHS and care services do everything in their power to protect and save lives. Although many of us are adapting, albeit slowly and anxiously, it is undoubtedly understandable that there will be a myriad of ordinary pleasures of our pre-lockdown lives that we are longing for again.

Photo by Morteza Yousefi on Unsplash

Just understanding that humans crave structure because of the control it provides us – as Examined Existence wrote “you wake up with a sense of ownership, order and organisation of your life” – illustrates why the lack of routine may be throwing us entirely off balance. If you are like me, staying in one place for a long time will cause an uncomfortable restlessness. Just the simple act of going to a coffee shop to work, the gym to release endorphins or the shops to run some errands makes the day feel more accomplished as well as broken up. We are required to stay at home now, for the foreseeable future, and the freedom of having access to interact with places other than home is something that I definitely took for granted. Alongside this, as social creatures, socialisation is an aspect of everyday life that everyone is lacking, introverts and extroverts alike – we all need it. There is something so satisfying about hugging a friend you haven’t seen in a long time, or small talk with the waitress that always serves you in the restaurant and yet it’s something we have always taken for granted. As a result of not needing to go out, we are missing the severely understated pleasure of looking presentable, with even Anne Marie performing on This Morning in a tracksuit (which she effortlessly pulled off anyway).

These ordinary jubilations weren’t as noticeable before the virus caused a global lockdown

I’ve missed the act of choosing a nice outfit or applying makeup or spraying cologne or perfume to feel a boost of confidence. Although these ordinary jubilations weren’t as noticeable before the virus caused a global lockdown, maybe self isolation is what it would take to not take these small pleasures for granted, to appreciate the ordinary; using this unprecedented time to become grateful for what we have.

Cover Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

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