100 Unmaterialistic Joys for A Bold Life

by Tess on June 14, 2009

photo credit: jmd41280

“Enjoy life, this is no dress rehearsal.” –Unkown

Today is Magic Monday!Please add to my list of unmaterialistic joys.

 The commenter with the best list wins a Starbucks gift card!

In no particular order:

1. Expressed love
2. Being creative
3. Feeling grateful
4. Feeling exhilerated
5. Sending and receiving thank you notes
6. The smell of the lake, ocean or a pond on a hot summer day
7. Catching fish
8. A new hiking trail
9. “Our song”
10. A support group
11. A morning run, walk or swim
12. Children
13. Being passionate
14. Expressed emotions
15. Intuitive action
16. Making a new friend
17. Reading your favorite blog
18. Being in the zone
19. An understanding look
20. An unexpected phone call
21. A good nights sleep
22. A new baby
23. Hugs & kisses
24. Volunteering
25. A great magazine in the waiting room
26. A friendly face
27. A walk in the rain
28. Watching boys play baseball
29. Watching girls play make believe
30. Compassion
31. Happy memories
32. An old book
33. A favorite realtiy show
34. Coming home
35. Tasting a new food
36. Pets
37. An old comfortable sweater
38. Feeling safe
39. A clean house
40. Bird watching
41. Gardening
42. Being in nature
43. Meditation
44. The library
45. Unexpected phone call, visits and texts
46. Grandchildren
47. A day at the beach
48. An inside picnic
49. A clean desk
50. Friendly neighbors
51. A good poem
52. A new song
53. Making others laugh or smile
54. Being yourself
55. A quiet mind
56. Visiting elderly parents
57. Freedom
58. Expressed thoughtfulness
59. Appreciation
60. A clean car
61. A day off
62. Donating to a good cause
63. Duct tape
64. A light bulb moment
65. A little help from my friends
66. A gift card
67. Learning something new
68. Self acceptance
69. A vision board
70. Taking small steps forward
71. Sea shells
72. The ocean
73. Dreams pursued
74. Biking in new places
75. Parties
76. Sunrise
77. Sunset
78. A crossed off to do list
79. A concert in the park
80. Fireworks
81. Going green
82. Patience
83. Cutting loose
84. A favorite chair
85. Worn out running shoes
86. Sticky notes
87. A pillow
88. A bed
89. Self love
90. Self acceptance
91. Practicing non-judgement
92. Alone time
93. Singing along to your favorite music
94. Watching a road race
95. The smell of squeaky clean kids
96. Watching sports on a big screen TV
97. 4th of July parades
98. Making love
99. Smells at the farmer’s market
100. A bird’s new nest in spring

Please add to my list! Best one wins a Starbucks gift card!

Comments on this entry are closed.

• Kristy June 14, 2009, 5:44 pm

  A great reminder about life’s pleasures and gifts that I often forget as I going about my daily ‘to do’ list. I might add: the smell of brewing my morning coffee, feeling my aching muscles after a fabulous workout, the thrill of crossing a finish line, a smile from a child, a back rub from my grandma, the birds chirping outside my window in the morning…..and of course, connecting via friends/family on Facebook!!

• Positively Present June 14, 2009, 6:17 pm

  What a wonderful list! One of my favorite things is seeing my dog’s tail wagging when we’re playing. It’s so great to know she is so happy, and I cherish seeing that happiness reflected in her body language.

  Positively Present’s last blog post..words are my happy sounds

• Julie June 14, 2009, 6:24 pm

  Love the list, and can relate to a lot of Kristy’s too! Planting flowers after a long winter and watching their beauty come alive, planting veggies and being able to go out to pick them for dinner! The sounds of summer with the windows open! Sheets dried outside, bringing them in and having the fresh smell liven the whole room! The beauty of a fresh snow in the moonlight, it just sparkles! ohhhh, the luxuries of life!

• Lance June 14, 2009, 6:28 pm

  Hi Tess,
  What a great list to read through…reminds me that there are so many ways for us to experience joy – if we allow it.

  My additions:
  Building a snowman
  Laying in the grass on a spring day, soaking up the sun
  Climbing a tree
  Playing tag with my kids
  Sitting around a campfire on a cool evening

  Lance’s last blog post..Sunday Thought For The Day

• jenn June 14, 2009, 6:32 pm

  Awesome lists and the add ons above this too! Some more of mine would be

  -hearing my kids enjoying the summer days (pool, running, tag, biking)
  -watching them play sports especially hockey
  -sipping a coffee on my deck in the spring mornings or fall mornings and summer!!!
  -sitting on the deck on a summer night just star gazing
  -crocs (shoes)
  -barefoot walking in the sand
  -picnics
  -snow showing through fresh snow
  -supper with friends
  -hot chocolate
  -campfires
  -reading before bed
  -scrapbooking (anytime lol)
  -sorting through photos (makes me really happy)
  -hot tubs on a nice night
  -glass of wine

  those are all things that make me go… I love life 🙂

  jenn’s last blog post..We made it…

• Danielle L June 14, 2009, 6:50 pm

  Great list! I would add:
  -walking barefoot and feeling the earth
  -looking in the mirror and refraining from criticism
  -listening to the purr of a cat
  -singing into hairbrushes
  -seeing a butterfly flutter by
  -the sound of windchimes

• Mary B Sheffield June 14, 2009, 7:11 pm

  Hi Tess ,
  The list is a something I need to print and read over and over ! So many Fantastic reasons to smile !
  My Favorites to add :
  -My children saying I Love you
  -A baby sighing as they sleep
  -The wind in my face
  -The sound of the waves as they hit the beach
  -Watching my big Bulky Husband at the minature table w/ a ladies fancy hat
  having a tea party w/ our Grand Friend Daughter !
  -Most of all Laughter 🙂
  Just thinking about all of lifes little Wispers of Happiness will bring a Treasure Hunt of looking for them in the days to come !
  Thanks Tess !
  Mary Beth

• LisaNewton June 14, 2009, 7:59 pm

  What a list!!

  A few additions

  -sand squishing through my toes
  -my daughter’s smile
  -a pat on the back
  -a backrub
  -a free samples lunch
  -the smell of the rain
  -the memories evoked from a photo
  -free museum days
  -looking up at the sun through a palm tree
  -reading The Bold Life

  Ok, that’s all I can think of for now. Thanks, Tess, making me think.

  LisaNewton’s last blog post..Union Station – The Hub of Transport

• Tess The Bold Life June 14, 2009, 8:26 pm

  OK Everyone! I have to address you all at once because I want to say the same thing to all: Your lists rock. Each joy mentioned can be added to my personal list. (I don’t have a dog so not that one)

  Reading them is thrilling. I can hear the baby sigh, I can smell the coffee, dried sheets outside, a snowman, the garden, being barefoot. And i think we are only touching the surface.

  Let the fun and joy continue…Happy Monday

  Tess The Bold Life’s last blog post..100 Unmaterialistic Joys for A Bold Life

• Giovanna Garcia June 14, 2009, 9:34 pm

  A great list of things to do here. I love so many of them…one hundred wonderful ways to live happen and empower our life. Thank you,
  I stumbled it so more people can enjoy this.
  Thanks for sharing.
  Giovanna Garcia
  Imperfect Action is better than No Action

  Giovanna Garcia’s last blog post..Can you talk a robber out of committing a crime?

• Alik Levin | PracticeThis.com June 14, 2009, 10:39 pm

  12,13,14,22,54,55,91
  101 – good Belgium beer or Irish stout.

  Alik Levin | PracticeThis.com’s last blog post..Single Step Toward A Journey Of Thousand Blog Posts

• Davina June 15, 2009, 12:41 am

  Great list Tess. I would add… the sound of snowflakes falling on a crisp, cold and sunny afternoon. Ever listened to that? They are so quiet, but you can actually hear them land 🙂

  Davina’s last blog post..Heads Up — Beware of Crows!

• Megan "JoyGirl!" Bord June 15, 2009, 4:10 am

  I love your list, and the lists of those who have already commented! A couple additions (loved the wind chimes and a couple of Kristy’s, too):

  1. The smell of spring flowers — especially grape hyacinths and certain tulips
  2. Walking outside into the sun the day after an ice storm and seeing the world encased in melting, sparkly “glass”
  3. Getting or giving back scratches
  4. Hearing a cat or kitten purr
  5. Dreaming of people you love, and feeling as if you were truly with them
  6. (Wow… I just read Davina’s and now I’m almost wishing for winter again!)
  7. The smell of cookies baking
  8. The smell of my boyfriend’s skin
  9. Receiving unexpected money in the mail
  10. Meeting new & wonderful people via the blogosphere (like you!)

  Have a beautiful day!

  Megan “JoyGirl!” Bord’s last blog post..Those Who Remind Us

• Hilary June 15, 2009, 4:25 am

  Hi Tess .. great list – I’ll be back with some ideas. Love everyone’s comments too ..
  thanks – you must have had a good break to compile the list!!
  here’s to your coloured chairs ..
  Hilary Melton-Butcher
  Positive Letters

  Hilary’s last blog post..Trooping the Colour

• Meredith June 15, 2009, 5:50 am

  –Giving a loved one an unexpected gift
  –Finding hidden treasures at the library
  –Taking photographs
  –Coffee

• gigigurl June 15, 2009, 7:17 am

  1. meeting your favorite rockstar
  2.dancing
  3.sex
  4 invisible understanding b/w 2 people

• Tess The Bold Life June 15, 2009, 11:27 am

  Gio,
  It is so much joy just to read them another word for this list is of course appreciation and gratitude. Each one is a wonderful thing to be grateful for.

  Alik,

  On a hot summer day!

  Davina,
  Yes I think you can hear heaven as well on that perfect day.

  Joy Girl,
  I think we have a lot in common. Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad we finally met as well.

  Hillary,

  As soon as I got going it was difficult to stop. I forgot to add my happy chairs.

  Meredith,
  I love them all!

  gigigurl,
  Wow no. 4 is pretty powerful!

  Tess The Bold Life’s last blog post..100 Unmaterialistic Joys for A Bold Life

• simply stephen June 15, 2009, 11:52 am

  Tess, this article goes hand in hand with my posting this morning on “Taking Time to Smell the Roses” – wow, what synchronicity!

  Here’s some to add:

  write a song
  if you aren’t musical try a poem or story
  share a meal with
  smile at a child
  capture a memory with a photo
  tend to your garden
  take a walk – and yes, smell the roses along the way
  say hi to complete strangers
  engage in the things you are passionate about

  You want more….I got hundreds. The simplicity of life is what is beautiful about it. Will send this out to the twitterverse.

  simply stephen’s last blog post..Take Time To Smell The Roses

• Amanda Linehan June 15, 2009, 6:13 pm

  Hi Tess – When we think about it, there are many things that bring us joy that we don’t have to pay for. It’s almost surprising. My additions:

  Feeling the sun on your skin
  Laughing with friends
  Going barefoot
  Getting into bed at night
  Running into an old friend (that you want to see!)

  Amanda Linehan’s last blog post..The Quick Guide To Meditation

• Rowe June 15, 2009, 6:57 pm

  There are so many simple pleasures to be had, this is a great list. I love to stroll along with my 2 year old daughter, at her pace, stopping and starting to look at things, picking up a rock or a flower or two. Being quite the young independent, when she holds my hand as we walk, is a very special treat for me. I also like sitting in a cafe or cake shop with her, having a coffee and watching her enjoy a nice treat to eat.

  Rowe’s last blog post..Change The World

• Patricia June 15, 2009, 7:48 pm

  evening bird song
  little salmon fry practicing jumping out of the water
  a dog’s smile on your walk
  the smell of a baby’s head
  appreciation

  lovely post Thank you

  Patricia’s last blog post..What is Marriage?

• Daphne @ Joyful Days June 15, 2009, 9:35 pm

  Gosh Tess,

  There are so many great points here I’m getting giddy just reading your original 100 plus those in all the comments. If I did just one a day, it would take me half a year to perform all these actions!

  Daphne @ Joyful Days’s last blog post..Feng Shui Bonus: Enhance Your Love Life

• Ashok June 15, 2009, 9:58 pm

  Its great to come accross your blog and for me it would have to be waking upto hear the waves hitting the shore!

  Ashok’s last blog post..Heartbreak chronicles

• janice June 16, 2009, 3:41 am

  Thank you, Tess. This is a phenomenal post – the list plus all the wonderful comments you’ve inspired. I’m still feeling really ill after a weekend in bed (and a day overdoing it yesterday 🙁 and just reading these has lifted my spirits. I can’t think clearly enough to add many – it would fry my brain – but waking up feeling full of wellbeing after a good night’s sleep would have to be at the top of any of my lists right now. Although I try to be present and grateful for what I have, here’s what I’d love to be doing right now, instead of swigging soluble aspirin and typing in my dressing gown:

  Watching my kids sleeping safe and sound, happily exhausted after a whole day at the beach, my husband reading on a balcony overlooking the ocean, then smiling as he fills me a glass of red wine; we sit, breathing in the fragrance of sea breeze and and night scented jasmine, listening to the waves breaking on the shore, the ocean’s sleep breathing.

  janice’s last blog post..Birds, Bees and Blogging

• Tess The Bold Life June 16, 2009, 6:27 am

  Simply Stephen,
  Thanks for spreading the word. You’re correct simplicity gets us every time.

  Amanda,
  I love getting in bed every nite. How could we leave that out!

  Rowe,
  2 year olds are filled with wonder and joy. Lucky you.

  Patricia,
  I got a visual of the salmon fry, how fun!

  Daphne,
  To think my post can make you feel giddy amazing!

  Ashok,
  So many things about nature get us all going!

  Janice,
  I’m hoping your feeling better today! I love the scene you painted.

  Tess The Bold Life’s last blog post..100 Unmaterialistic Joys for A Bold Life

• Hilda June 16, 2009, 10:56 am

  Wow, Tess, this is an amazing list!!! Between yours and everyone else’s there’s hardly anything listed that I wasn’t nodding along to.

  I would also add waking up early, not needing to get up yet and rolling over to get more zeds, and hugs from my cat (she comes up behind me, puts her paws around my neck and nuzzles my head – it’s unbelievably amazing!)

  Hilda’s last blog post..The A – Z of Happiness: C is for . . .

• Liara Covert June 16, 2009, 6:12 pm

  -full, divine conscious awareness
  -service to others in the highest good
  -insight into unseen worlds
  -the impulse to help people anonymously
  -timeless inner knowing
  -dream messengers
  -uncondtional love & self-acceptance

  Liara Covert’s last blog post..Facilitate a dying wish

• Karen June 18, 2009, 7:28 am

  Great list.
  I want to add three, although i’m sure I have another hundred:
  – the smell of freshly cut grass
  – the uninhibited laughter of children playing, especially outside in the summer
  – knowing my kids are making their own way in the world and that I brought them up right

• Evita June 18, 2009, 11:04 am

  Excellent list and tips Tess!

  The big joy for a bold life for me is – consciousness! It makes all other things no matter how big or small purely blissful!

  Evita’s last blog post..The End Is Near – But The End Is Just A Beginning

• Barb June 19, 2009, 11:19 am

  Participate, not anticpate. I learned this through a Spiritual Retreat called TEC, Together Encountering Christ.
  It is so true in all aspects of life. If you do things, like those listed above, you aren’t anticipating, so you are present to the moment, the joy. Otherwise, you may miss something very important, like life.

• Heidi Zator June 23, 2009, 3:29 pm

  What a fabulous list. Here are some to add.

  Time with family
  Children laughing
  playing & walking dogs
  walk in the garden
  a beautiful rose
  a clean house

• Women's Fancy Dress February 25, 2010, 8:23 am

  Certainly reminds me of what is beautiful without spending a penny!

  Great list and great post.

  Thanks!

• Tabulyogang February 16, 2011, 9:35 pm

  Here are some to add

  Early morning breeze
  Favorite toothbrush
  comfortable shoes

  “In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy” -Albert Clarke

• Universal Truth - Code 2 Live By February 28, 2011, 11:33 am

  I have enjoyed this list so much I put a link on my blog! I hope you are okay with that?

• Elise March 1, 2011, 7:56 am

  I would have to add
  seeing the joy and understanding when a student understands something about themselves
  discussing social justice issues in an open setting
  volunteering my time with kids
  writing a mom an email about her son and how awesome he is
  Looking at my alarm and realizing there is still an hour left to sleep
  dancing with my roommates in the comfort of our apartment
  making a “gourmet” dinner…as far as gourmet and college go
  making connections worldwide
  whip cream on coffee
  writing down my crazy ideas in a dream journal
  LIFE IN GENERAL! Love this blog and list of things. It really makes me realize the small things to keep in mind. I wish more people would sit down and realize all there is in this life.
  Love and more love… -E

• Karen S. Elliott April 26, 2011, 5:38 am

  Act goofy and encourage a giggle out of a grandchild.

• Sparkle September 10, 2011, 8:01 am

  I love the list and all the adds! One of my personal favorites is open, unguarded access to the Inner Being/True Self of another.

• Terry November 11, 2011, 1:20 am

  Hugging my dog…He’s my best friend.