5 Fantastic Joys of Living That Will Always Be There

I have a fantastic announcement. You’ve probably noticed by now and it may have become apparent to you already, but just in case you haven’t, in case you’ve stayed indoors for too long, maybe even still wearing your winter jumpers (Christmas? Oops!) – It’s…. SUMMER!

We know that it’s not always easy to enjoy the Irish summer. However, this year – so far so good! There’s so much more of Summer that you can enjoy when the weather is great. When the sun is shining we feel full of life, we’re more social and more active. Our mood changes and somehow we become more optimistic and happy. Our thinking also seems to be much more positive, inspiring and supportive. We enjoy our days, breaks, lunches and weekends in the park, by the sea or just playing outside. We make the most out of every evening because it’s bright and warm. The days seem much longer because there’s so much more we can do after work. Life is good!

Because of this positivity everywhere we’ve decided to write about some of the most fantastic things about life that are always present. 5 Fantastic Joys of Living That Will Always Be There. They are those fantastic joys that never change. They’re simple but so important in terms of the quality of our lives. It feels like Summer is the perfect time to remind ourselves about them:

• Children – I can hear them playing outside all day. They laugh, come up with most surprising ideas, play hide and seek, ride bikes, dance and sing. I recently spent time with a few children in my family. Joining them in their play enabled me to remember the basics. I remembered to laugh so hard that my sides hurt, to sing (shout) at the top of my lungs completely out of tune and for no apparent reason (who cares!), smile in the morning (that was a challenge) because it’s a brand new day, you had a good night sleep, you are surrounded by your favourite people… and most importantly the cartoons are on.

• Good food – one of the best joys of living for sure. We all have our own favourites in this category. It’s rich in variety and forms. Different cuisines, recipes, treats drinks and snacks. In Summer good food is even easier to enjoy. Maybe ice-cream, watermelons, strawberries, raspberries and other fresh fruits, green salad with fresh veggies, fresh BLT sandwich, corn on the cob, or even cold summer soup like gazpacho. An altogether different level of joy comes from guilty Summer food pleasures: grilled burgers and ribs, cold beer, A LOT OF ice cream, milkshakes, deep-fried anything.

What are your Summer favourites?

• Sun – It’s definitely there but it’s not here to stay. In Ireland it’s also not a given that the Summer is sunny so make the most of it.  Spend as much time as you can outside. Enjoy it! Here are just a few things you can do in the sun: picnic in the park, take a day trip to the beach, play / learn to play golf, buy seeds, pots and compost and grow your own plants, lie and read in the sun, ride a bike, go for a walk, go to a local farmers markets, go for a hike in the woods, maybe try horse riding, go to the zoo,  go camping, sit outside the restaurant, pub or a café, have a garden party and a barbecue, go to a music festival, get up early in the morning and watch the sun rise.

What do you enjoy doing in the sun? (Please be aware: We are looking for decent examples, ok? 🙂 )

• Great company – there can never be too much of that. Summer is definitely the time to socialise and possibly take the time to enjoy the company of those who we don’t get to see that often during the year. Maybe it’s a trip to visit family in Spain, maybe big family holidays or a drink with an old friend or a colleague. There seems to be so many more opportunities to arrange a “get together” and so much more energy for it. Anything that we mentioned in the previous point can be shared and enjoyed with others. Summer is the best time to forget TV, forget Facebook and anything else that can get in between us and REAL people. If there is any time to break free from habits around social media, time stealers and being inactive now is the right moment. It’s an opportunity to develop new habits and do things differently going into Autumn. We only need 21 days to develop a new habit, so start now.

• Time off, out and away – we all get a bit of that at some point between May and September. Do we get enough? Many of us would say that we never get enough holidays so the idea is to plan and enjoy purposeful trips away and make ALL of them count. It doesn’t always have to be a 2 week beach holiday in Portugal. It can be a romantic weekend away, a day trip to Bray, Antrim or Galway or a lovely meal outside in the local restaurant. What counts is how much meaning you attach to it, how mindful you are at the time and how this time off, out and away helps you in a purposeful way to power up and renew your energy. No free time will ever bring results if we don’t notice and value its importance to your health, relationship with yourselves and others. Plan and truly enjoy it!

These fantastic joys of living will always be there, especially but not only in Summer. You can probably think of more that you enjoy e.g. music, naps, online shopping, shoes (yes, for men too), TV series or gorgeous looking celebrities. You don’t have to explain yourself, even if your joys of living are just a bit weird and your friends are making jokes about them. So what? They are there to make our every day just a bit better. And it works!

Have a great SUMMER!

Author: Joanna Michalowska, PSG