Divine Little Luxuries

Do you have a bliss list?  A list of touchstones that make you happy...frogs, sunsets, puppy faces, chocolate icecream...it's a good thing to have, to remind you what to look for when you lose your smile, or find you've been nose to the grindstone so long, you've lost your way.  Here's another list worth starting:

Divine little luxuries.

Ann's latest little luxury?  A liner for the back of her new little car, so she can haul garden stuff and building materials without losing the new-car clean.  I helped her sew it from a tarp.  Okay, I sewed it.  When I started talking about grommets and gussets, her eyes glazed over.  While she and Cat hauled garden stuff in Cat's Jeep, I stitched up a few seams, and put in temporary ties, which she can replace with clip rings from the hardware store.

Divine little luxuries aren't things to have someday, when life is perfect.  Divine little luxuries are the things you can do without, the expensive but needed things you "should" wait for sales to buy in multiples, the stuff you really don't have time for, all the little conveniences you could arrange for yourself, but somehow never get around to...all the things that when you start to allow yourself to have them, make your experience of the every-day so much smoother, more pleasant, and sparklier.

Here are a few of mine (some I have, some I'm searching for, or working on incorporating)..

• Pretty vintage enamel compost bucket, which replaced the plastic tub.  It's amazing how much I enjoy walking out to the compost ring, now.
• Outrageously detailed paint in my closet ~ the last room to need it, one of the first rooms finished.
• Leaving earlier than necessary for an appointment and driving the speed limit, instead of trying to do too many things, then rushing to be ten minutes late.  It is almost laughable how rich this feels to me, not having to pack every minute with "must-do's".  It's sad how rarely I do this, still.
• Buying doubles of everything I use in the bathroom, so I'm always stocked up on the essentials.
• Organic and/or locally grown produce.
• Occasionally scheduling play dates with friends in the middle of the work week, and not cancelling for work, no matter what (like last Tuesday's 3 Amigas day, spent with Cat at Ann's, doing little projects like the bed-liner, photo'd above).
• A great pencil sharpener, instead of three that don't really work.
• New music.
• Hardback editions of my favorite books, because I do re-read a few.
• Fabric covered bulletin boards in my work spaces.
• Pretty work spaces.
• Lace trimmed paint pants, instead of painter's whites (only I know this is my uniform, but it makes me happy).
• Etc. and endless...

Wanna know the funny thing about these luxuries?  They don't eat holes in your time or finances.  Quite the opposite.  When you treat yourself as the precious spark of Divinity that you are, and create as much Heaven on Earth as you can in your life (why wouldn't Heaven on Earth include functioning pencil sharpeners?), you up your capacity for abundance, you expand the quality of your available time, and you boost the vibrancy of the energy you give out. 

Treat yourself beautifully.  You're worth it, and you'll be doing us all a favor!

Feel free to leave comments or ask questions below, or by emailing me at dawnmariedelara@gmail.com

If you would like to add divine details to your corner of Heaven on Earth, maybe I can help.  Check out my portfolio of possibilities  at theartofthehome.com.