“To be nobody but yourself, in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting". - E.E Cummings.

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" - Steve Prefontaine.

"Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before'. It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative" - Steve Prefontaine.

Running evokes an almost indescribable feeling in me. It is euphoric. I couldn't tell you when I developed my love of running..because it's all I remember. But it is likely that it all began around the age of 10 after watching, 'Without Limits', the true story about Steve Prefontaine, for the first time (the first of many, many times). Coached by Bill Bowerman (co-founder of Nike), Steve Prefontaine was a distinctive and charismatic revolutionary in track running, who could ignite the crowd in an instant. He possessed an incessant willingness to run every race whole heartedly. To always push himself further than most could even imagine. It were these characteristics that enabled him to hold all seven American records between 2,000m & 10,000m. His unique style, ability, dedication & intensity will leave anyone in awe of him. 

I implore you to watch Without Limits. It is the most inspirational movie I have ever seen.

(and if you fall in love like I did, read 'Pre' by Tim Jordan & watch the documentary 'Fire on the Track'). 

"I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it" - Steve Prefontaine.

"The man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest" - Thoreau

Simple pleasures. They're not elaborate or pretentious. They're easy & uncomplicated..they're absolute. One could say that I am easily pleased. Make me a good cup of tea and I will appreciate it more than you know. Watch TV on DVD with me, episodes on end, & you will instil instant happiness in me. 

It has become human nature to get caught up in the conundrums of our daily lives. To become so fixated on the quandaries, ultimately finding ourselves in states of utter perplexity. So much so, that we often forget to take a step back. We fail to stop and enlist optimism & simple pleasures that can help overcome even the greatest of predicaments. The pleasures that have that innate ability to evoke feelings of utmost happiness. As Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, 'the aspects of things that are most important to us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity'. 

These are my simple pleasures. They are not elaborate. They're uncomplicated & absolute. They are the aspects of my life that make it that much better. The most simple and familiar.

Playing my favourite song on repeat. This alternates between 'Fix you' - Coldplay & 'Heartless' - The Fray.

Eating cereal late at night. 

Fresh bread..with lots of butter. 

The smell of the aforementioned fresh bread. 

Tying my hair up in a bun so that it's completely off my face.

Getting all the green lights. 

Drinking out of a straw.  

New gadgets. 

Watching movies and television shows I have loved since I was little - The Little Mermaid, Full House, Superted, Widget.

Happy face cookies 

Starting the day with a run. Running at any time, actually. 

Choc chip cookies, just of of the oven.

Blowing bubbles.

Thinking in the shower. Long, hot showers. 

Their voice. 

Star Wars. Hearing the Star Wars theme music. 

Airports. I have a strange obsession with airports.

The perfect cup of tea. Followed by 3 more. 

Getting mail. Especially postcards and letters. I keep ALL of them. I am sentimental like that.

Waking up and realising there are hours left until the alarm goes off. 

Going out for breakfast on a Sunday. Sundays in general.

Surprises just because. I don't think you need to wait for an occasion to do something to make someone smile.

Taking your shoes off. In the car. After running. After a night in heels.

Ice cream. I cannot express enough my love of ice cream. Especially Snickers & Ferrero Roche.  

A familiar smell that instantly brings back a memory. 

Stepping inside seconds before the rain hits. 

Happy tears. The best kind of tears.

I have found that the little things in life aren't so little & the big things, aren't so big. All you have to do is take off your shoes..have a hot shower..consume countless cups of tea..hear his voice and watch too many episodes of Survivor on DVD..& you will feel absolutely elated. Pure exemplification of how the little things..the simple pleasures..can completely take over & those big things seem to be forgotten before Jeff Probst can say, 'The tribe has spoken'. 

Mind over matter, heart over head, tea over coffee & happiness above all else.

"The essence of pleasure is spontaneity". - Germaine Greer

Inappropriately dressed in my sass&bide "Don't blink" tee and a necklace I'd only just made. The beach is the last place I expected to spend the last few hours of the first weekend of winter. But even on the coldest of days, I love sunsets and long walks along the sand. Cliché, I know. 

It always comes back to the simple pleasures. To literally lean against the wind. To laugh with my hair in my face. For the love of happenstance.