I think it was maybe in Shauna NIequist‘s book Present Over Perfect where she talks about rediscovering the things that brought her joy as a child. Maybe it’s drawing or swimming or hiking or whatever it is, but it draws you back to some elemental place in your being, where you feel happy and fulfilled, fundamentally whole.  It’s something that brings you pleasure, peace, or maybe a sense of accomplishment.   Like your heart is just filled up to the brim with contentedness and you feel lit from within.

I read that book well over a year ago, but the idea still resonates because somewhere along the way, I’ve tended to drop those things and I’ll bet maybe you have too. Adulthood and Responsibilities take over and those formerly essential elements of delight get pushed to the wayside for louder, more pressing demands.  Maybe it even feels silly, or dare I say it? A Waste of Time.

I’ve worked this year on implementing some of those things back into my life intentionally – for me it’s reading books, drawing, writing, and in other times of my life,  riding my bicycle (which I still adore doing and want to integrate more in 2018). But for this year, I only truly succeeded with making books a major part of my life. I got onto Goodreads and listed all the books I could remember that I loved and had read, and then added to the list of ones I wanted to read and I’ve absolutely loved keeping track of them all. Total this year I’ve read 31 books — not all of them were stellar, obviously, but it’s restful and restorative to my soul to be there with a great big stack of books.

Anyway. What did you love doing when you were younger? What filled you up? Do you still do those things? Why or why not?