Catalog of Obscure Joys

• Arriving in an unfamiliar place and seeing someone you recognize.
• Returning home to find everything exactly as you left it.
• Remembering you have a new tattoo and thinking "oh good, I don't have to keep drawing it."
• Lying down and closing your eyes at the end of a long day.
• Seeing a digital clock display tick over.
• The lightness of your head after a haircut.

Alex T. Dragonson, 2022/12/10

• Putting your glasses on after cleaning them.
• Waking up next to your partner.
• Getting home and taking off your mask.
• Your best friend sending you a People Hugging emoji.
• Realizing something isn't your problem and delegating accordingly.
• Showing your art to people who appreciate it.

Alex T. Dragonson, 2022/12/10

Realizing you misread the clock and you're 20 minutes early, instead of 20 minutes late.

Rockario, 2022/12/10

Seeing someone's face light up after you did a tiny thing for them, like holding open a door.

Anke, 2022/12/10

Finding an album or song you haven't listened to in years and realising you like it more now than you used to.

bentosmile, 2022/12/11

That moment when you go back to something and you understand it in a new way.

SkySailor, 2022/12/11

Rubbing your eyes after taking your contacts out!

JGarfink, 2022/12/11

When you fall asleep on the couch but you are still conscious enough to notice someone putting a blanket on you and you feel loved and cared for as you sink deeper into your nap

ZenobiaVayne, 2022/12/11

Finishing up a bottle of something (shampoo, ketchup, etc.) that you've been virtuously working to use the last scrapes out of, and getting to open a fresh one.

Ruthanna Emrys, 2022/12/11

Watching yourself heal--whether physically in the mirror, or by acknowledging all the things that are easy now but were difficult or impossible days, weeks, or months ago.

Alex T. Dragonson, 2023/06/15

Cooking a new recipe and having it come out perfect.

Irina, 2024/02/28

• The remaining warmth of a mug in your hands after consuming a hot beverage.
• Finding a comprehensive and useful answer to an important question from a pleasant conversation with a friend.
• The feeling of your toes gently rubbing an interestingly textured carpet.
• The satisfying click of a mechanical switch.
• Learning a word or phrase in a language foreign to you which better describes something you experience.

Russ Sharek, 2024/02/28

• Clicking a ball point pen.
• A completely blank piece of paper yet to contain thoughts and dreams.
• Walking barefoot.
• Riding down any small hill on a bike and yelling WHEEEEEEEE!
• When your cat reaches out her arm to touch your leg and says 'mrrrrp?'
• A cool drink of water on a hot day when you are very thirsty.
• Being the first to make foot prints in the snow.
• The smell of dirt.

Sarah, 2024/03/08

• Letting your feet get caught by a small wave.
• A smooth tumbled stone at the beach.
• A lost earring, found and reunited with its pair.
• A new fern frond.
• The sound your dog makes when she’s dreaming.

Kate Bowles, 2024/03/08