Savour Life

“Savour life’s tiny delights–a crackling fire, a glorious sunset, a hug from a child, a walk with a loved one, a kiss behind the ear.”

 John Anthony

As I have got older life’s fleeting nature has become very apparent to me. I’ve begun to see each day, each moment as a golden opportunity for enjoyment, happiness, and love. I wish I had felt this way sooner.

Here are some ideas for savouring life and living it to the fullest;

Define or refine your values and personal operating system. Know what is important to you, and seek to live in accordance with that.

Be true to yourself. Be authentic. Look for ways that you are pretending, acting to impress, or living out some other person’s expectations rather than your own.

Examine your job. You spend many hours a day in this job. If you don’t love it, or at least like it, you are frittering away a good chunk of your life. This is imperative for a happy life.Take control of your career.

Give to others daily. Share your knowledge, passions, skills, and time with someone else on a regular basis. This doesn’t require a grand gesture. Impacting one life can  make a huge ripple on the world. It feels good.

Show kindness. In the smallest interactions, be kind. Choose kindness over being right, indignant, smarter, richer, or too busy. Kindness feels good to you and to the recipient. And it’s infectious.

Release some stuff. If you have loads of material things that you don’t use them, give it away to someone who can use them. This is tremendously satisfying.

Just listen. Listen to someone’s story, their pain, their joyful event, their boring anecdote, and their fears. Give someone the gift of really hearing them.

Nurture your friendships. Be the initiator. Express your feelings for them. Learn more about your friends. Be there for good and bad times.

Be the person you want in others. Define what you want in a relationship, then be that person yourself. Like attracts like.

Expand your network. Actively meet new people. They can enhance your life; introduce you to new ideas, pleasures, and other new friends.

Communicate often. We so often misunderstand and misinterpret one another. Or we say things we don’t really mean.Learn healthy communication skills. and use them often, particularly in your primary relationship.

Go outside every day. Sunlight boosts your mood and provides vitamin D. being in nature enlivens your soul and makes you feel connected to the world around you.

Get moving. You know this. Get some exercise. Walk, bike, run, swim, dance, stretch, lift weights. Make it fun.

Cut back. Simplify reduce stress. Find balance in your life by letting some things go. You can’t do or be everything. Pick a few things, and enjoy them fully. Identify where you are stressed, and deal with it.

Play often. Play shouldn’t end at childhood. Have fun regularly.

Increase your travel. The world truly is your oyster. There is so much to explore and see and enjoy. Pick some places that intrigue you. Save your money. Plan some trips.

Unplug. Television and computer have pulled us away from real living. Actively reduce the amount of time you spend in front of them. Fill that time with pleasurable activities instead. Read, cook, play a sport, meet with friends, do something creative, make love, meditate, go to the theatre, look at the stars, dig in the garden.

Think less. Be more. Act more. Negative thoughts create negative feelings. Actively seek to stop negative thinking, and just be in the moment. If negative thoughts and feelings are getting intrusive, do something distracting. Pick one of the activities above and savour it.

It takes thought, planning, and a dose of wisdom to create a happy life — a life that you can savour. Experience teaches us these lessons, and wisdom helps us to embrace them.

“Savour life don’t press too hard don’t worry too much… enjoy” 
Jerry Weintraub