Simple Pleasures

by Gregory Allen Butler

The capacity to enjoy the simple pleasures of life is essential to the enjoyment of the human experience. Enjoying the joke of a friend, the smile of a stranger, the fragrance of a garden flower, or the turning of the autumn leaves, these are the little things that keep us grounded in the unfoldment of the present moment. When people rush through life because they are too busy, these moments are missed.

I believe these moments are manifestations of an infinite intelligence that pervades the universe. This intelligence is the source of an unseen order that creates beauty, harmony, resonance and meaning in a world that otherwise would be total chaos. To appreciate it is to acknowledge it and to acknowledge it is to experience it at ever deeper levels.

I remember receiving a wall hanging when I was 21-years-old that quoted Emmet Fox: "Don’t hurry, don’t worry, and don’t forget to smell the flowers." That was a reminder to enjoy the simple pleasures of the world. I took the advice to heart and it gave birth to a new sense of aliveness.

To be awake to the beauty and joy of life is to be inspired with an enthusiasm for life. It keeps one in a positive frame of mind. Being alert to the simple pleasures of life makes one a connoisseur of life. The deeper the awareness the greater the joy.

Simple pleasures require that we slow down to smell the flowers, to watch the birds, to see the sunrise, to notice people’s smiles, to feel the cool breeze, to smell the summer rain. Simple pleasures require that we have a clear mind, unburdened of the past, free of fear of the future, free from desire stemming from desperation.

Sometimes the simple pleasures come from opposites like a full meal after a long stretch without eating, or a comfortable bed after driving in a car for 16 hours. Or having a foot rub after being on the feet all day, or a shoulder rub after doing a few hours of yard work, or even a glass of water when your mouth is parched with thirst. The relief of strain, hunger, and weariness are wonderful pleasures, as is the surrender to deep sleep after being awake for 48 straight hours.

Waking up early in the morning, one of the simple pleasures I enjoy is the quietude. In the hot summer months here in South Carolina, I enjoy the coolness of the mornings. If I’m up early enough, another simple pleasure is watching the sunrise. The beautiful tones of red and orange in the sky are soothing to my eyes.

Some mornings I take a brisk walk down to the inter-coastal waterway. On some mornings there is a mist over the water and over the wetlands across the waterway. The beauty of the scene brings serenity to my being. So does seeing herons and other graceful birds flying just over the surface of the water, hunting for food.

Emerson had a similar experience he wrote of in his essay entitled Nature:

In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life -- no disgrace, no calamity, which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground -- my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space -- all mean egotism vanishes. The currents of the universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God.

Another simple pleasure that reminds me that I am part of this infinite intelligence is when I experience synchronicities. On my very first trip to India, I met an Indian businessman on a flight from New York which connected in London and went on from there to Bombay. This man was from Calcutta. He was traveling back to India for a funeral. We chatted and got to know each other a bit. But when we went our separate ways, I never dreamed I would see him again.

But six weeks later, in Los Angeles, a friend heading to Paris needed a ride to the airport. I went with her to the gate area and this same man came up to me and asked, "Are you going to Bombay today?" The odds of meeting him again by chance were staggering, but when considered from the perspective of wholeness, it filled me with wonder.

On another trip, my wife and I were in the New Delhi airport waiting for a flight to London. As I was standing in line to get us something to drink, I heard a man’s voice call me by name. I turned around and saw someone I worked with in Washington, DC whom I sometimes car pooled with. These type of experiences are reminders that in our apparent world of chaos there is a certain order, though it is mostly unseen -- a oneness in the midst of diversity.

I think that is the purpose of the simple pleasures in life -- to awake us to the beauty and oneness that surrounds us. Whether it’s an experience in nature, or with synchronicity, or just smelling the aroma of coffee or basmati rice, it doesn’t matter. There is a wholeness in existence, and these experiences help us experience the harmony and balance that is characteristic of that reality, of which each of us is a part.