I wanted to sahre a practice with you that can be a really important part of rewiring our brains away from negative bias: Taking in the good & finding delight.

This practice is not my own but a lovely union of two books I read recently:

‘The book of Delights’ by Ross Gay and ‘Hardwiring Happiness’ by Rick Hanson (links below)

The book of Delights, is a collection of poetic essays on, of course, the subject of delight and is a wise and heartfelt journey though the seemingly small but beautiful moments in life.

And I was introduced to Ross Gay though the This American Life podcast ‘The show of delights' which is a wonderful listen.

Hardwiring Happiness is a brilliant book based on the neuroscience of focusing on the positive.

The thought of another book on positive thinking might make you want to stuff your head into a pillow and scream but I promise it isn't a glib throwaway pseudo science book, Nick Hanson talks intelligently & accessibly about how we can turn the awareness of events in our life into the neural pathways we need for well-being.

In this way we can weave life's good experiences into the brain where it can make use of them.

So often the simple joyful, delightful moments in life, as abundant as they might be, pass us by.

Its much easier (with our negatively biased brains) to focus on the things that went wrong in a day rather than what went right.

Hanson suggests that not only should we become more aware of the joyful moments but if we take it a step further and savour the experience we will begin to rewire our brains to positivity.

But don't take it from me … you can try it for yourself, its a simple format that can be applied to pretty much any positive experience.

Have the experience
Enrich it
Absorb it

Settle yourself somewhere comfortable and follow the steps below:

Of course this idea probably isn't new to you, we've all had moments of savouring the good things in life and remembering what brought us joy.

But I would offer that this isn't a muscle we flex as regularly as we could and just like anything, the more we practice the better we get.

Things to consider,

Appreciate the little things - find simple delights; finishing that email, watching the cat snuggle on a cushion, appreciating your friends - your experiences don't have to be intense, just enjoyable.

Finding time for savouring - See if you can set yourself a specific time to practice taking in the good, like when you wake up, at meal times or before bed.

Last thoughts - Obviously this practice isn't designed to wash away the suffering of the world and look at things only through rose tinted glasses. And it doesn't mean you have to try and put a happy face on challenging times.

Taking in the good is a present moment exercise, all things are transient, good or bad.

Taking in the good isn't an act of grabbing the good bits and holding on for dear life but allowing and savoring the experience so that it can sink into you, become part of you.

By taking in the good and allowing it to actually permeate we can begin to shift the dial on our negativity bias and hopefully find some more ease and joy in our days.

And of course, the best way to see if this can be something that impacts you positively is to get curious and experiment with it.

I'd love to know how it goes and how it feels.

Remember there's no expectation for any outcome in particular; you are the boss of your experience.

I thought I'd end today with some of my most delightful delights from the last few days as they still make my heart feel expansive:

*The promising beginnings of new buds on trees discovered on a rainy walk when everything was grey and felt otherwise gloomy.

*A dear friend bringing the gift of cakes with hidden sneaky vegetables in them and the result being completely delicious combined with seeing the look of pleasure on my youngest sons face (made even more delightful because he's an avid vegetable avoidant)

*The joy of a new mug that is just the perfect size and shape and holds the right amount of tea (and has a picture of a sloth!)

I'd love you to share your simple delights with me if you feel called, maybe we can start a small revolution of delight together!

* Also if you'd like to try a guided meditation version of 'taking in the good' click the audio below