What simple things make you happy/grateful?

[cheese]

Gratitude/happiness list!

Feel free to bitch and moan to provide a counterpoint as well though.

 

[cheese]

My list:

Spoiler

- I have, and can pay for, air-conditioning.
Such a small thing but it makes such a big difference in physical comfort for me. Heck, even a fan - when it's the height of aussie summer and you can't get to sleep at night because you're being boiled alive BY THE AIR, a working fan is ecstasy.
- I like food. This makes the significant portion of the day spent eating pleasurable. Working out exactly what I feel like eating then having exactly that is fantastic. It helps that I don't have very refined taste too. Sometimes melting a slab of cheese on some toast then slapping on some ketchup feels like heaven. I feel complete and utter satisfaction and contentment afterwards.
- Also, cheesecake is really easy to make yourself.
- I'm not broke.
- I don't have to wake up early in the mornings. This is a godsend for me. Generally, waking up early makes me more depressed over time. I start feeling like I'm walking a tightrope.
- I've got an easy job.
- I have big windows in my living room. They let in a lot of light and make the whole place look bright and cheery, and like the place of someone who might actually get stuff done. Sometimes, this impression is so convincing that stuff actually happens. But if I'm feeling depressed (or my eyes have become too sensitive to the light because I spent years living as a vampire) I can keep the light out and have complete privacy.
- No one ever comes to the door. It's really quiet.
- My bathroom isn't depressing (I dunno what it is; some bathrooms are tiny holes, and others are really spacious but feel like hospital wards - mine just feels nice).
- I have non-white paint on my walls. RACES UNITE!
- Picking exactly which of my multiple sets of cutlery/glassware/general foodware fits my mood. When I use something which 'matches', I feel really happy and bouncy.
- Blenders are incredible.
- When I'm outside walking and a breeze comes past, everything in that moment feels completely perfect. But not just that, magical. I feel deeply connected to the universe.
- I'm easily amazed, surprised, impressed, made happy, etc. (I'm also the opposite of the first three - so I'm an idiot grump.)
- I've found a new, more private route to work.
- When it's getting a little dark outside because it's cloudy, I feel invisible.
- I want very little, and I can easily satisfy those wants, and satisfying them brings me great comfort.


Hmm, a lot of these sound pretty S. It's insanely satisfying to scratch those itches though. It's the same feeling you get when you're near-suicidal and you finish work and finally get to crawl into bed instead of having to fight your impulses. Only better, because you don't want to die, don't have pants on, and do have pizza.

All these things add up to many moments of happiness throughout the day - I guess because I'm able to satisfy a thousand tiny and insignificant impulses. Having impulses at all is really useful. Successfully achieving these little goals brings me small moments of joy and contentment.

Also, having the means to satisfy impulses and needs (like sleeping many hours when you're depressed or sick, which happens fairly often) means you've one less thing to worry about. You can indulge whatever 1st-world problem you have at the time.

Part of the focus on the physical could also be because psychological stress has been increasing the last 10 years or so. But I'm still very fortunate not to have to worry about starving, or being homeless, or having no support system, or a severe illness, etc. What I feel a lot of the time is free.

 

[EditorOne]

http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=Mavericks+Dance+the+night+away

Mavericks
"Dance The Night Away"


Here comes my happiness again
Right back to where it should have been
'Cause now she's gone and I am free
And she can't do a thing to me

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

And if you should see her
Please let her know that I'm well
As you can tell
And if she should tell you
That she wants me back
Tell her no
I gotta go

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

And if you should see her
Please let her know that I'm well
As you can tell

And if she should tell you
That she wants me back
Tell her no
I gotta go

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

I just wanna dance the night away
With senoritas who can sway
Right now tomorrow's lookin' bright
Just like the sunny mornin' light

 

[redbaron]

Spoiler

-reading cheese threads
-whenever I don't have to wear pants. It's not so much that I hate pants as much as I hate the fact that you "must" wear them so often.
-having an authentic Chinese restaurant around the corner
-thunderstorms
-playing and watching basketball
-having an amazing partner
-cuddling my cat
-learning

 

[Mia]

Nice hot cup of tea
Falling asleep when it's raining
Somewhat financially stable

 

[Anktark]

Silent nature- either just before a storm at spring/summer/autumn or most of the days at winter. If you go out in the fields at winter when there is little to no wind it seems that time around you has been frozen too.

Going through city at 4 a.m. in the morning. It's nice to live in a city that still sleeps even if for a couple hours a night.

Swimming- just laying on water; breath in, breath out (there are no beds THAT comfortable). Or diving- it feels like a different world altogether.


It might seem that most of INT happy moments are sensory, but I think that's because those are the moments we are self aware. Out in INTP land I am beyond happy, but it doesn't register since I am not really all here.

 

[Architect]

I'll split it into two parts, those things I actively appreciate and those that I take for granted because I'm so used to them, but immediately miss and appreciate the moment their gone.

Active appreciation

• My house. I've lived in a lot of circumstances (rentals, houses, hotels, etc) and never liked any of them much. Partially the layout or whatever but also the technology. Staying in a 18th century hotel in Paris might seem romantic but it's a pain in the ass. The floors creak, there's little sound proofing, bad plumbing and odd smells. After many years of saving and searching we've found the perfect place for us. All the little things, the high tech windows (double paned optically coated), the layout (back faces south), the style (neu-mid century), the rooms (has a cinema room) and so forth. My wife describes it as a "fun house" and I'd add "comfortable". It's not at all ostentatious or too much of an entertaining house. Its just enough.
• My computers They give so much and ask so little.
• Tea. How did I make it before tea?

Appreciate but don't think much about

• Health Since I went to the Nutrarian Fuhrman diet I stopped getting sick. No more colds, flus or feeling bad, unless I over eat by accident. It's gotten to the point that if I do feel slightly bad (usually by slipping off the wagon and eating too many treats like dates) it's a "what in the hell is this?".
• Family Take them for granted for the most part, along with getting annoyed occasionally as we all do for whatever little transgressions.
• Modern Healthcare Mainly thinking dental care here. Whenever I have to do anything (like get all my old childhood work replaced) I have tremendous appreciation for modern dental care, and by extension health care.

Yes there's a lot of S here cheese but that isn't surprising. I don't write "Computer Science" or programming, because that's part and parcel of what I do all the time. Or even music, they're both just part of me.

 

[onesteptwostep]

I'm greatful for mangrines. They're cheap, tasty, and easy to peel as f***.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Fresh, sharp state of mind.

Peace.

Silence.

Awarness in others.

 

[Zeta]

+) tea. The strong one really help you set a firm foot in reality at times of distress
+) Computer--> BRAIN FOODS! HAHAHAHAHA
+) Drawing. Painting. It express the unspeakable
+) thunderstorms, heavy rain. The city view is just magnificent at times like this, with sounds that ward off boredom
+) Greens. Plants.
+)People. They are a great source of inspirations, and a great subject for researches
+) In-jokes. Spotting so many of them XD

 

[Belak]

Things that make me happy:
-Acing every test and pretending I have no idea what my parents are talking about when they ask me about it
-My siblings (especially the two twins) below the age of 4
-When I read a good book in the span of a few hours
-Playing chess
-Petting cats
-Food

 

[Lot]

1. Music
2. Cannabis
3. Sleep
4. hugs
5. Orgasm
6. Diviner's sage
7. Nature. The desert is so beautiful.
8. All those things mixed with cannabis

 

[Cavallier]

1. Good tea. Not just tea, but good tea.

2. A learned skill for cooking and baking. It has saved me so many times and also provided me with a lot of comfort over the years.

3. Access to just about any book I want that is actively in print.

4. A partner that is calm, kind, and puts up with all my weirdness. I guess that's not so simple.

5. The Internet.

6. Music and the ability to access anything I want easily.

 

[Brontosaurie]

Mavericks
"Dance The Night Away"

ace song

 

[cheese]

In-jokes and sleep! Those are 2 major ones that make me happy - completely forgot about them. Sleep especially - must be terrible having insomnia. I fall asleep whenever I want and it's the perfect escape.

Archie, I noticed the S thing about myself; that was before anyone else replied. Specifically Si things (finding happiness in matching the external environment to internal sensations of 'rightness'). They're specific and finicky and I realised I had a lot of them. I'd actually say most of your items were large-scale and somewhat more abstract. (+1 to healthcare - I'm very grateful for that too.) I like your split between Active and Generally Unaware.

It is interesting that other people are mentioning things along the lines of 'thunderstorms/time freezing', 'art expressing the unspeakable', etc. I feel these things too but have recently been made to feel it's because of F or Ni. However, I think Si can just as easily account for it. (Couple of profiles talked about the INTP tendency towards nostalgia and appreciation of atmosphere, iirc.)

 

[QuickTwist]

I think absurd things are really very funny. I almost always laugh when someone makes a weird verbal noise or does something that is ludicrous. Basically anything that is amusing for my brain to think about.