There are many simple pleasures in life, living life at a slower pace is one. When in Cape Breton life seems to slow down even in the best of times.
I start walking a bit slower when I get off of the plane during my yearly venture to enjoy the summers in beautiful Cape Breton.
A few of my favourite simple pleasures are :
- Getting up early looking out at the water and enjoying my first cup of tea.
- Watching the boats go by.
- Seeing kids water skiing or being pulled on a tube while shouting with glee.
- Reading a good book or magazine while soaking in the sun.
- Swimming in the Mira and taking a walk along the shore of any beach in Nova Scotia.
- Spending an evening with our kids one in their 20’s the other in their 30’s.
- Enjoying a meal cooked by our adult children.
- Eating outside on a warm summer eve.
- Spending time with friends anytime, anyway.
- Appreciating all in life that I have to be grateful for.
I love being around our children who are now young adults. Yesterday I got to spend time with my daughter. We cooked together, played crazy eights, and Yahtzee thoroughly enjoying each other’s company. What simpler pleasure could there be than that?
Counsellor Talk : Creative Collaborative Connections 
Your ten-point list is one well worth reading, rereading, and posting in a prominent place as a reminder of what we often overlook to our own detriment. Along the lines of what you describe in this post, I find that setting everything aside at the end of a long day and taking a walk through a nearby park (which offers wonderful tree-covered paths, several small ponds and lakes, and endless suprises regardless of how many times I have explored that magnificent refuge in the middle of an urban setting) helps put things in perspective–and reminds me that those “simple” things are not so simple after all.
We are truly blessed that we can find refuge in those spaces.