#43: 100 things that bring you joy

Dear friends, welcome to Living Boldly. I’m so delighted you’re here.

This week, in preparation for the anxious time for many of us in the United States (come Tuesday), I’ve been inspired to go through a very delightful exercise. I sat down yesterday to write down a list of 100 things that bring me joy.

The whole thing took about an hour. And in that hour, I got to know myself a little bit better, saw a whole bunch of beautiful memories rushing back, and marveled at this thought: how incredible life’s smallest moments really are. This exercise itself brought me a lot of joy and I’m sharing it with you in the hope that it can make your first week of November a little more full of joy, too.

Here are my first 50 out of 100 things that bring me joy (and if you’re curious to see the full list, it’s here).

Things that bring me joy:

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✧ Pastel pink-peachy color

✧ Big statement earrings

✧ Dark green nail polish

✧ That first sip of wine I really enjoy

✧ Stretching and the feeling of my body opening-up

✧ Sitting by the fire in the Wadi Rum desert

✧ Big chunky sweaters

✧ Flowing skirts

✧ Music that takes me places like Kora playlists, Japanese chill, or Souad Massi

✧ Losing a sense of time when I’m reading a book

✧ Fresh bed sheets

✧ Oysters and brute by the streetside in Chelsea

✧ Little black cashmere dress in which I feel like a Parisian

✧ Reading my story in a travel magazine

✧ A really good toro sashimi

✧ Drinking a cup of tea with ginger, cardamom, and milk

✧ Going through all the photos I’ve taken over the years

✧ Holding my camera in my hand

✧ The first step out of an airplane in a new land

✧ Sitting at a table with friends on a long afternoon

✧ Freshly made pasta with oyster mushrooms and parmesan

✧ Looking for just the right word to say, meticulously, when I’m writing

✧ Sticking my hand out the window in a moving car

✧ Sitting down on my mat and meditating

✧ Seeing my Bedouin friends in the desert again

✧ Cheese and yogurt made out of sheep’s milk

✧ All sorts of honey

✧ Crisp fall mornings when the leaves are already yellow and red but it’s not yet cold

✧ The feeling of fresh mountain air on my face in the morning

✧ A city at sunrise when I’m the only one awake in the streets

✧ Holding the paws of my dog in my hands

✧ The scent of Elizabeth and James Nirvana perfume

✧ The poetry of Mary Oliver, Rainer Maria Rilke, Rumi, and Hafez

✧ Hearing the call to prayer flying across the hills in Istanbul or Amman

✧ Long conversations with friends that make me feel seen

✧ Choosing thoughtfully and then buying gifts for my friends

✧ Creating something out of nothing (a new brand, project, website, story)

✧ Re-reading for the nth time the work of Master and Margarita by M. Bulgakov

✧ Watching old Soviet movies I grew up on during holidays with my grandma

✧ A cab ride on the way to the airport

✧ Huge scarves I can get lost in

✧ Korean drama series on Netflix

✧ Fermenting my own cabbage

✧ Closing my eyes and envisioning what the dream I’m working towards feels like

✧ Recording a podcast with people I dig

✧ Renting a car in Greece or Turkey and going on a road trip

✧ Stopping by at a roadside and buying all the fruits from a vendor

✧ A freshly squeezed pomegranate-orange juice on the streets of Istanbul

✧ Going to the hammam in Turkey

✧ Watching seagulls when crossing from the European to the Asian side in Istanbul

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Onwards,

Yulia

P.S. The podcast I recorded this week focused on the components we need to build our dream creative lives. Listen to it on Apple here and catch it on Spotify here.

P.P.S. This Wednesday, Nov 4, at 1 pm EST, I’m running a workshop on building your brand and getting assignments with Instagram. Register here.

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This week’s joy links:

• I’m reading The Complexity in ‘Where Are You From?’ in the NYT

• I’m listening to this Thievery Corporation-inspired playlist

• I’m about to start rewatching Crash Landing On You, a first for me