Prompted by the question “What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?” I did not have to give too much thought to what they might be!

I am finding myself more and more focused on gratitude and on happiness in the moment, as well as mindfully exploring and benefiting from the empowering joy of self care.

To come up with just five things that bring me happiness, I noted the following:

1. Sipping organic Earl Grey Tea
2. Reading (and listening to) The Bible
3. Watching sunrise and sunset in the countryside
4. Writing in my journal
5. Handwriting with a wonderful fountain pen

Where we live in the British countryside, we are very fortunate to be able to see the most beautiful sights of both sunrise and sunset. This has been an incredible blessing to me over the years and has had no end to the stirrings of happiness I experience, as I drink in the beauty and graciousness of Nature at dusk and at dawn.

Upon waking each morning I love to sip a cup of my favourite organic Earl Grey Tea, while I pray and read my Bible or write in my journal or meditate quietly, contemplate the day ahead and focus on what I am most grateful for or need to try to achieve as a priority.

Clipper Organic Earl Grey Tea makes every day a little bit special for me and I must admit to drinking several cups through the day. It is fairtrade certified. A high quality tea which is both light and refreshing with the distinctive citrus flavour of bergamot, without the chemicals that are in so many other teas.

Amongst many other books, I enjoy reading and studying from several versions of the Bible and the one that I love to read every morning is The Message by Eugene Peterson. I have a little purple Message Bible that I have been cherishing for years and would love to have a larger print to read now. This pretty one in teal appeals …

Usually, I first dip into the book of Proverbs, which has a chapter for every day of the month and thus makes it a very straightforward daily practice and easy devotional to ponder on. Then, I see where I am led or read something that I have a particular reason for going to or am studying at the time.

This morning, a verse that stood out for me in the fount of Proverbs wisdom in chapter 11 was:

vs 9
“The loose tongue of the godless spreads destruction;
The common sense of the godly preserves them.”

And another that caught my attention:

vs 12
“Mean spirited slander is heartless;
Quiet discretion accompanies good sense.”

I often smile at the down-to-earth and simple instructions that the Bible contains on how to live life well, so succinctly contained and highlighted in the book of Proverbs. It is a superb map and guide book for anyone in any walk of life and at any time to draw insight, inspiration and strength from.

Another of my regular everyday happiness practices is to listen to the Bible app, which has daily readings, commentary and prayers, created by Nicky Gumbel, pioneer of Alpha, and his wife, Pippa. Every day there are fresh insights, which continue throughout the year and are so often exactly what is needed at the time. The Bible readings themselves are done by David Suchet – which brings me to his NIV Audio Bible on Audible …

The NIV Audio Bible read by David Suchet has been arranged into daily readings to help you listen to the complete Bible in one year. In the digital download version, there is a portion from the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Psalms or Proverbs each day – each on a separate track, to make it easy to navigate.

Ever since he became a Christian at the age of 40, it was Poirot actor David Suchet’s dream to make an audio recording of the whole Bible. In between filming the final episodes of Poirot, David Suchet spent over 200 hours in the recording studio to create the very first full-length audio version of the NIV Bible spoken by a single British actor. I find his voice very good to listen to and it makes the experience of walking through the Bible a really satisfying and impactful one.

I have heard that it is very good for our brains to use our hands and one of the everyday things that bring me simple happiness, is writing in my journal with a beautiful fountain pen. The journal type that I have been using for many years is a black A5 notebook produced by Rymans, which is similar to the one below,

My all-time favourite pen was a beautiful and generous gift to me by my husband and it has seen many years of diligent script and many, many ink refills! It is a superbly comfortable black and gold fountain pen made by Parker and has a lovely even flow. Something similar to, if not exactly, this one:

It is such a great outlet for all sorts of thoughts and inspiration, as well as being very good for our brains to use our hands to write and create. I would always place journalling high on my list of essential everyday self care and also a way to unwind and to add to the flow of life with ease. Highly recommended for all sorts of reasons!

Last, but by no means least, I cannot resist a little dancing session every day! To dance, all we have to do is stand up and move to the rhythm of our internal beat … so easy, one can even do it sitting down! Make sure to smile, though … because that adds even more happiness to the moment!

This little cutie makes me laugh every time I see the video:

I do hope you feel inspired and are thinking of what makes you want to dance!

And now it is your turn: What are five everyday things that bring YOU happiness? I’d love to hear.

❤

Love

Holly x

PS. Do feel free to write your responses below this post on The Holly Tree Tales website and remember to keep smiling … it confuses a frown!