The Pleasure Reports are notes on the pleasure I found in my life each week. This purposeful focus on pleasure began in 2010. I was working with countless managers who were working themselves sick, our aim was to establish new ways of working that would not make them sick. And then realising that whilst ‘not sick’ might have been a good aim to start with, it was a terrible one to stop at. How about ways of working that are a pleasure?! And so the study of pleasure began with The Pleasure Reports – a weekly record of -how many things were a pleasure -how many a pain and -what the pain to pleasure ratio was that week. I thought I’d do it for one year and ended up carrying on for three. You can read the whole story of how it began here and here.
Here we are, only in week three, and I find my tolerance for things that are a pain has worn paper thin and my pleasure at the pleasurable is growing fat, succulent and juicy.
Just three weeks of consistent pleasure and pain gazing is having an effect surprisingly quickly.
I’ve discovered I want to be like the doctor in the book ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’, but more about that in the pain section.
Shall we…….
The pleasure, a selection from the week.
The pain, a selection from the week.
The pain we did something about. I say we….. you are joining me? Good, good.
The Pleasure
Seventeen points. Seventeen that stood out enough in my memory to make it onto the list of pleasure recalled this week.
And of those there’s six that are significant and warrant mention but we’d be here all day so I’ll see if I can narrow it down.
A selection of pleasure
Quality and depth of observation of the stuff of life.
Heidi’s table launched this week and I couldn’t be happier.
Here is a woman who is exquisite in her observations of the stuff of life and that’s already enough for me to be a raving fan so when she takes her observations and holds them gently till just the right words appear to touch the truth of the way things are, I’m in understated raptures.
Most especially about the tightness of things….she really sees what tightness does to the flow of life.
Further, not enough to notice and describe, she takes the exquisitely observed and described stuff and pain of life and makes lotions and potions for mixed up emotions and offers ‘listening hands’ to massage away the pain. At this point I’m almost glad I don’t live in America or I’d probably be stalking her and it wouldn’t be healthy.
I’m safely in the UK admiring everything Heidi is and offers to the world. It’s just better with Heidiness around.
Tech antidote
I know there is probably beauty in the tech but forgive me, I do not see it. Someone wrote ‘code is poetry’ so I know some do see it but for me, enough of the tech for now.
Even though it’s still mocking me and toying with me and refuses to offer you a selection of related posts to browse, I gave up temporarily with the tech wrestling and oh did. it. feel. good.
For my tech antidote, I chose art. Kettles Yard house and gallery in Cambridge, the exhibition is
‘Modern Times, Responding to Chaos’
Oh pleasure, thinking, art, lines, drawing, colour, wonder, heaven. Then we had tea and cake.
And then there was an unexpected bonus on the radio on the way home there was a really nicely done bookclub programme.
And this week my twitter antennae have been twitching wildly at arty tweets, hoovering up all the offerings rebalancing my tech upset.
The most beautiful was ‘Champagne‘ a film clip which is both beautifully human and beautifully shot.
The Pain
Seven points. That’s not many but they are significant.
I’ve been feeling my tolerance for things that are not a pleasure wear thin and this week it’s paper thin. It’s not at zero tolerance yet but it’s close.
I’ve only been watching this closely for three weeks but the internal response ‘up with this I will not put’ is eager now.
My compassion and understanding for the other person’s view and understanding of why they might have done what they’ve done has all but vanished in favour of a fairly loud internal ‘NO’ which I find myself eyeing suspiciously whilst shifting uncomfortably in my seat.
A selection of the pain
Most of the pain comes under the heading of my time.
I work full time, I’m a Mum and there’s the house to keep, and I’m particular.
I have a gentlemanfriend and friends.
I have a gentlemanfriend and friends.
Really, I think I’m better suited to working part time whilst supported by a team of tech, admin and domestic helpers (of which I currently have none).
The time issue is compounded by my working from home in an open plan house and having some of my work being reading so to the teenage observer it looks like I’m not doing anything available.
It’s also compounded by the teenage tendency for casual arrangements which change ten times between the making and the carrying out resulting in much re-planning of days in response to the latest changed request for collection/ feeding/ numbers to be fed.
Or ‘NO’ as has become the new response.
It seems I don’t do multiple changed arrangements anymore.
I mentioned the doctor in the book Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, I aspire to his arrangements. He sees patients in the morning then lunch is ready when he returns to eat with his family after which he retires to read and then siesta. This time is fiercely protected by his wife, daughter and servants. I think some more patients later and then dinner and drinks, cigars and philosophical conversations with friends in the evening at the bar.
It’s not that he has reading and siesta time, it’s that he has people guard it that mystifies me. I aspire to guards. And I never thought I’d say that.
The pain I did something about.
That’s easy this week. I did tech antidote and the multiple changed arrangements just don’t get past me anymore.
This is going to save me days.
All in all
It’s been a surprising week. The eroding tolerance, and the speed of it. The wanting guards. The rush of tech antidote beauty.
How about you?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
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