The Simple Pleasures Project is an effort to slow down enough to notice the little things in life. Too often in this fast-paced world, many of us don't have time to "stop and smell the roses." We're so busy making a living that we forget to enjoy life. This project is my attempt to take a break from the fast lane by stopping to notice one little joy each day, the simple things that people usually take for granted, or sometimes don't see at all. Because sometimes those things really are the things we should be most grateful for.
My moment of realization came during the spring of 2011 when I missed the annual planting of the pumpkins, one of my favorite parts of the farm. My hours at my indoor desk job had double during the latter half of the winter, and while I knew life was flying by faster than I wanted it to, it really hit home when I missed the pumpkin planting. My heart longed for the farm, but there I was working 40 hrs. a week in a job I wasn't enjoying, and missing out on everything at the farm. My days were so rushed I scarely had time to say hello to my cows in the morning as I fed them, much less take time to stop and smell the roses. I knew then and there that something had to change.
It was a scary leap of faith, but as with all leaps of faith, it paid off in the end. I was able to adjust my schedule to allow me to spend time on the farm, to slow down a bit, to notice and enjoy the little things that I hadn't really realized I was missing. It's a good feeling.
So this is my project, my celebration of joy and happiness, of life itself, and all the little "simple pleasures" that are a part of it. The simple pleasures are what truly make the world go round. It's sort of like the lyrics in the Supertramp song "The Logical Song," where when he was young "it seemed that life was so wonderful, a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical" and then they sent him away to learn "to be sensible, logical, responsible, practical" as society demands, but in doing so, they took away all the magic of his world. This project is my way of reclaiming that magic, because the world truly is a magical place when you take the time to notice it.
