Every month I chronicle those ordinary delights that give me comfort or offer a place of reflection or joy. Here are my everyday delights for July:

1. Wonder 

We were on vacation last week and I adore this photograph of my daughter. Witnessing her gaze and her ability to sink into the moment with awe made my highlight reel on this trip. She’s on the cusp of innocence and knowledge and I am so grateful I grabbed this glimmer of wonder.

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2. Bookmarks

I love bookmarks and collected them as a young girl. When the book fair visited at school, I scrounged up just enough change to buy a plastic bookmark with its signature tassel. I intersected with a painter during our vacation and smiled as he painted these bookmarks.

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3. My readers 

I felt so much love this week from my readers, especially during a season where I talked about how much I struggle to find a landing place for my grief.  So many of you reached out either here, through Twitter and Facebook, offering words of condolences and shoulders to lean on. Our virtual world is sometimes seen as a nemesis, but I am grateful for the love, hugs and voices of comfort. So thank you, dear readers, for your continued support. All of you make me feel less alone. For that, I am grateful.

4. Podcast with Maria Popova 

My husband is an avid listener of podcasts and often tunes into Tim Ferriss’s Four Hour Work Week. He asked me to listen to one particular session. I highly recommend this segment, a  Q & A with Maria Popova who authors of my favorite websites, Brain Pickings. It is 30 minutes, but it is time well spent. She answers questions about the creative process and provides some concrete insights on navigating art and life.

 

5. This view 

I caught the sun setting at the right time this month and captured this shot. I love how the clouds dot the sky and sun is exiting with a fierceness. This quote, I thought, explained the essence of this moment: “The pale stars were sliding into their places. The whispering of the leaves was almost hushed. All about them it was still and shadowy and sweet. It was that wonderful moment when, for lack of a visible horizon, the not yet darkened world seems infinitely greater—a moment when anything can happen, anything believed in.”  – Olivia Dunbar

 

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What delighted you this month?