D is for Delight

As far as words go, the word ‘delight’ might be considered kind of, well, light.

“Well, that was delightful,” we say, leaving a movie theatre. “Delighted to meet you,” you tell someone who you have just met (even if delight is not what you feel!)

Delight suggests a momentary feeling of happiness. The word derives from the Latin delectare "to charm," which also gives us the word “delectable”, and the same lighthearted sense of pure, uncomplicated pleasure. It’s a nice word. (Nice is another “light” word.)

So why include it in my Alphabet of Healing Words, when there are so many strong words starting with D that might offer more healing than a momentary encounter with pleasure? Words like Dream! Dig deep! and even Defy and Diversify. These are words that describe ways of healing that involve action – the antidote to Despair.

D is for DEFY

Instead, I chose Delight. 

One day last month, I was bogged down and not getting anywhere with my ideas. Bad things continued to happen in the world, but I was at a loss on how to express hopefulness in my art.  And so I went for a walk in the woods. It was a lovely fall day, and sunbeams were dancing through the foliage – all the gold and orange colours creating a patchwork quilt above. 

fall

I chatted with a few other walkers, listened to the sea gulls screeching at each other as they argued over rotting fish carcasses, watched dogs frisking on the rushing river bank. This was a whole world in a little piece of park I call my sanctuary. 

 

 

Often, creative ideas pop into my mind as I walk. Would it happen again? No matter: just being in nature soothed me. As I walked back up the hill towards home, a little breeze sent leaves floating silently down around me. I felt like a bride, decorated with confetti, and I thought, “Oh, how delightful!” A momentary experience of happiness that coloured the rest of my day and led to this piece which I began creating soon after. 

 

Delight, I’m thinking, is not just a little thing, a trifle. Delight belongs with other similar words like wonder, awe, enchant, gladden, held spellbound. It is the pause that puts our life into perspective, perhaps only for a moment, but that moment is precious, and nourishes the soul. That moment reminds us we are part of something much bigger than us, that we are connected to all that is around us. The moments we experience, moment after moment after moment, are stitched together into a life. Yes, there are terrible things happening in the world and to us. We need to do what we can to heal, and to heal a hurting world. But we will also acknowledge that there are beautiful things in the world, things that delight us. And this is a gift of healing for ourselves that we do not want to squander. 

The piece I created for the letter D depicts such a moment. Many years ago (1979 to be exact!) our sons aged 5 and 3 were playing outside helping dad rake the leaves that were swirling around. I was carrying the littlest one, 6 months old, as I “supervised”. Once the leaves were raked, the real fun began – if you remember the delight you experienced when you jumped into a pile of leaves as a youngster, you’ll know what I mean. I grabbed my camera, plopped the little one between his brothers, and captured that moment of delight. 

And now it lives on in a piece of art and warms my mother-heart. And reminds me that small moments of delight can live on and on. I hope you have such moments stashed away in your memory, as well.

D is for delight. Cherish it wherever you find it.

(There’s a problem with this piece of art: I messed up when I tried to improve on the photos with stitch. However, it was a delight to work on it, and eventually, I hope to correct what doesn’t please me. 
 

In April, 2020, I created a Diary of Daily Delight and wrote about it here: https://crowdayone.blogspot.com/2020/04/

PS: Update on my blanket of love
I am beginning to design and work on the “blanket of love.” (If you have a better name for it, please let me know. This is my working title!) 

 

I’ve decided to print my quotes on squares of cotton which I’ve dyed with rust or eco-printed with botanical bits I gathered from nature. Then I will arrange them against a background of silk scraps hand-stitched on a cotton blanket. All the materials I’m using are second hand, except for the ink pens. Perhaps I should learn to make ink from scratch, too. Learning new things could be a delight.