A friend once told me that when she was going through a particularly bad time, she would take out her ironing board and iron something. The familiarity of the task, the smell of the iron-warmed cotton, and the sense of setting something right gave her a pleasure she could count on. In Korea they call this concept, “Sohwakhaeng” (소확행), translated as "small but certain happiness." The words "small" and "certain" are important: the idea is to give yourself a treat that is small enough that it's always achievable, like a cup of tea on your afternoon break.
Since I began thinking about this idea, I came up with a list of the things that bring me small but certain happpiness:
That cup of tea I mentioned (Earl Grey with milk, please)
A novel at bedtime
Music, especially baroque music, Jack Johnson songs, and pretty much all the songs we've listed on our music page
Coffee in the morning
Scratching my dog's soft soft belly
Red wine
Walking outside (most of the year)
Scented candles
BBC mysteries
Eating off my blue and white plates
Stinky cheese
Several things happened as I listed my Sohwakhaengs:
I kept thinking of more things to add to the list;
I realized I could combine the pleasures for even more happiness, e.g. eating stinky cheese off my blue and white plates while watching a BBC mystery and drinking a glass of red wine;
Just writing down the things I enjoy made me happy;
And last night, when I scratched my dog's belly while reading my evening novel (combining pleasures!), I felt those pleasures even more keenly.
I hope your small but certain pleasures do the same for you.
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