Moments of peacefulness?

[Ultralight]

Sometimes (like tonight) I will make steel cut oats for dinner. Not sure why, but I like oatmeal for dinner sometimes.

I will throw in a dab of PB, some walnuts, raisins, raw honey, and cinnamon.

It is good.

But during the 30+ minutes it takes to cook the oats, I usually find myself feeling peaceful in a way.

Does anyone else care to share their unexpected moments of peacefulness?

[Tammy]

Driving all alone. I don't like to drive. Would like to live without a car. But when I need to drive somewhere that takes 20-30 minutes it's quiet and relaxing.

[Zoe Girl]

it is hygge, the Danish word for comfort. They like oatmeal a lot.

[Yppej]

Doing a back float.

[catherine]

Doing a back float.

I like that one.

Right now, in the wee morning hours, when everyone else is asleep, and I'm alone with a cup of coffee.

Or in the summer, sitting on my swing with my dog, reading.

Or at night reading Compline (Prayers at the End of the Day)

[herbgeek]

Sitting in a Adirondack chair overlooking my garden. Makes me feel peaceful even when the chair is inside and the garden is converted with snow.

[razz]

Sitting in the afternoon winter sun reading, cup of tea in hand, dog snoozing at my side and classical music playing especially Gaia Prime radio on my Sonos speaker.

[Rogar]

I have expected moments of peacefulness somewhat routinely, but had to think about unexpected moments. Odd as it might seem, the one I came up with was when I bike 10 miles to the Sinclair station the next community over and buy a double sized Butterfinger bar. Sometimes it seems exquisite.

[dado potato]

What a delightful thread!

Rogar, in warmer months I use my bike on a near-daily basis. I don't pack a snack, but I port iced green tea (which I brew with "Dragon Well" loose green tea leaves from Yunnan). Climbing a hill ... and shifting down to a lower gear 7 to 9 times ... gives me a euphoric feeling. Maybe it's dopamine in my brain. Once the slope of the road is level again, I return the gears to normal, and my breathing and heart rates go back to calm and slow, and I drink a couple squirts of cool tea. Ahhh! And I take in the splendor of the roadside wildflowers and the butterflies... forest on both sides.... "Rolling, Rolling, Rolling!" on a bike named "Watch and Pray".

I ski cross-country (traditional Nordic) this time of year. I have hilltop experiences on skis too. I especially enjoy stopping on a little-used trail, among red pines (or whites, but white pine is much less common here). And I take in the smell of the snow, observe grouse or chickadees, and best of all, listen to the pine needles sigh in the breeze. I highly recommend the relative silence of standing still, after the rhythmic slap and hiss of skis striding over the snow. My winter refreshment is chai (black tea with spices, milk and sugar) which I keep in an insulated bottle.

razz, my sunporch is glazed on the E, S, and W sides, and under the tile floor I have electric heat which I set at 80F in winter. This morning at sunrise the outdoor temperature was -19F (in the bleak mid-winter, as they say), but the ambient temperature one foot above the sunporch floor was 60. It is sunny today, so I expect the temperature in the La-Z-Boy recliner will go up to the high 60s this afternoon. With minor differences, I read as you do. Out in the sun I like my tea (Darjeeling or Yunnan black) in a clear glass cup! I rest it on a clear glass coaster. Before I put my feet up with the hand-lever, I spread my lap with an afghan blanket. I am usually joined my Norwegian Forest Cat (she is my laptop!). When I look up from my reading I see the snowy expanse outside, or the interior view of succulents, coleus, rosemary & parsley (brought in for the winter), geraniums, African violets, and a few other potted plants. I am listening to Gaia at the moment, for the first time... quite restful, acoustic. Thanks for mentioning it.

[leslieann]

Thank you, dado, for the moment of lovely peacefulness your description of chair, cat, afghan and sun porch brought me.