An Ode To Simple Pleasures
Observe textures, patterns and form. Notice the interactions, the composition and consistency of the unnoticed, the ordinary, the mundane. Capture fleeting moments.
Awaken the senses: It’s all in the detail
I started writing this entry in March 2020. It was the start of everything changing, for everyone. It was the start of everything and nothing.
Is 2020 the year we feared or the year we have always needed? Don’t get me wrong, I am exhausted and I have barely left my house this year. But it got me to thinking, why does society make us feel like it is not ok to take the time to just… be.
I recently heard someone on the radio say –
“You need to take the time needed”
Today everything is so fast, everybody wants it now or yesterday, and at the click of a button. In the palm of their hand, delivered to their door. Right now, everyone is in a constant state of panic, hoarding things they think they need. Pandemic or not… Is it survival of the “fittest”?
Technology; a double edge sword. Smart phones, social media, the World Wide Web…Making us feel so connected and telling everyone what to do, to wear, to think, to feel, TO BE? Everyone is a graphic designer or a photographer or an artist, a stylist, a model, a brand ambassador, life coach or motherfucking influencer of who knows what. I mean… have you seen their skincare regime? Details become diluted. True beauty is missed.
I feel like some people are missing those… simple pleasures. The art of being where you are, right now. Showing up as you are. And when everything seems dismal, finding pleasure in the mundane?
Simple – easily understood or done; presenting no difficulty.
Pleasure – a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.
Simple pleasures are lost on a consumed population. Let’s stop and smell the fucking roses. Let’s touch the petals too. For me, simple pleasures are about noticing the unnoticed. I have always been fascinated by overlooked details. The things I can see around me – natural, man-made, maybe even intangible.
The feeling of clean bathmat when you step out of the shower. The weird patterns cast by shadows or that rainbow reflection of light hitting water. Paint peeling from a fence, a rusty old sign with a chunky retro font or the bold colours on some weird statue of a religious deity. An interaction, an exchange of emotion between two beings, the movement of a body shape that’s not like mine, or that fresh smell of jasmine telling you spring is in the air. Everything is inspiration. The colour or texture of a leaf might spark something brilliant.
If you don’t open your eyes, you might not see it. If you don’t’ reach out and touch it, you might not know what something is truly worth.
What I am trying to say is – embrace the simple pleasures. Take time to digest every texture, smell, feeling, sound, form, colour, shadow, sensation.
Close your eyes. Take a breath right now. And REALLY notice the detail in whatever form it takes. You never know what you might find.
I like to document the simple pleasures, the visual gems that might spark something creative later on. If you are fascinated by the beautiful mundane moments too, follow along over on insta @detaildigest
