A Few of Our Favourite Simple Pleasures…

Whiskers on kittens and warm woollen mittens… these are a few of our favourite simple pleasures. 

In a world filled with social media addictions and the instant dopamine hit provided by the sound of a notification, it seems many of us are desperately trying to find some semblance of joy… and failing. 

Working seemingly endless hours of overtime, striving for a promotion that never comes – or if it does, is not nearly as satisfying as we hoped it would be.  

We buy and buy and buy… Shein has a stronghold over many of us, after all. Yet we still stand in front of our wardrobes, insisting that we have nothing to wear. And that dress that we lusted over on our Instagram feed ends up stuffed down the back of the closet, tags still attached and the happiness it promised you unfulfilled. 

There are so many more things to do, and to see, and to be now, yet are we any happier? 

What if I told you that happiness may not be found in your Instagram feed, or a jam-packed Google calendar, but rather in the simple pleasures of life? 

The smell of baking bread or the excitement when your indoor plants begin to sprout, simple pleasures can often be overlooked and under-appreciated… especially when things go right. 

When life is swimming along, it can be easy to get swept up in social engagements and work parties, entirely focused on getting that project completed on time. 

But when life takes a turn, and the sky is grey, and things are no longer going right, we often turn to the simple pleasures; those often-dismissed things that fill our hearts with joy and set our minds at peace. 

Baking cupcakes with your favourite song playing softly in the background, or dozing on a Sunday afternoon with sunlight streaming through your window. Watching a butterfly flit from flower to flower, or the delicious warmth of a cup of tea and a cosy blanket. 

This anthology explores the ways in which we find joy in the little things, how we heal our hearts and replenish our souls.  

What do you turn to when you need to find a little happiness?  

Share your simple pleasures in the new University of Sydney anthology.