A Recipe for Simple Happiness

12 days of Reflection | Day 4 | April 2023

A month filled with beaches, books in bed and baking

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Oops, I’m rather late to writing my Substack monologues today, football club and a hike with the ridgebacks took a little longer than planned. As I keep telling myself it’s better late than never to reminisce with ease… April 2023, was a month bathed in the simplicity of my life’s pleasures, beach walks, reading and good old fashioned home baking.  As I cast my mind back to those days, I know I was happy and relatively calm. Although I do recollect raging on the page most days, especially around Easter time.

As some of you may know, beach walks have become my ritual, books my escapism and eating cake, well, I’m a secret sugar addict and if it was up to me, I’d eat cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love cake, especially homemade cake, such a simple and affordable indulgence.

During the first couple of weeks in April, I remember enjoying being wrapped up in blankets, getting lost in the pages of one of my favourite Elizabeth Strout books Lucy by The Sea. It was blissful having guilt free reading time, if only for an extra hour before the ridgebacks nudged me out of bed.

Since I was a child I’ve loved the alchemy of the kitchen, a space where basic ingredients of eggs, butter and flour transformed into sweet delights. Journaling will always be my number one go to therapy, but baking will always be a close second.  What about you? Do you ever lose yourself in the aromatic rewards of making a cake.  Or maybe you over did the banana bread baking back in lockdown, that you’ve decided to hang your baking apron up for a year or so. I don’t blame you, baking did become quite competitive back in 2020/21.

All I can say is that for me the simple pleasures of beach walks, books and baking feed my soul and April definitely came up trumps for it all. I gave myself the time to enjoy miles of golden shores, dive into my ever growing book stack and experiment with different flapjack recipes. What more could one yearn for when some of the simple things in life are on tap. Looking back I certainly don’t remember the complexities of my life, they have long faded, leaving behind an image of pure unadulterated bliss.  

I’ve crafted a few therapeutic journaling prompts to compliment my April 2023 topic of enjoying the ‘simple things in life’. I hope they help stir your soul and encourage you to share your untold stories of 2023.

Until the next time,

Take care and stay safe xx

1. Describe a space or activity that makes you feel completely at ease.  What elements contribute to this feeling of comfort, and how can you incorporate more of the into your daily life?

2. Recall a recent moment when you fully immersed yourself in a simple pleasure, like enjoying a warm cup of tea or a country walk.  What sensations, sights or sounds stood out to you?  How did it make you feel present and content?

3. Identify one area of your life that feels overly complicated or cluttered.  How might simplifying or decluttering this aspect bring a sense of ease and freedom?