Webster's Dictionary defines the word "delight" as a noun, meaning "a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; joy; rapture" and as a verb, meaning "to give great pleasure, satisfaction, or enjoyment to; please highly." When we were young, we couldn't wait to see what the tooth fairy placed under our pillows, what we got for our birthdays, what was wrapped under the tree for us for Christmas. Delight came naturally to us.
As we age something happens to many of us. We get jaded or cynical or more realistic and lose some of our delight at the world and of events. In fact, a Google search of "percentage of Americans who experience delight" turned up a bunch of links about how to increase customer satisfaction and the disturbing headline of "Americans Delight at Finding a Gun From Santa Under the Christmas Tree" with a photo of a blond prepubescent female in flannel pajamas in front of the tree holding a rifle. The search included no statistics about actual delight but did equal delight with happiness.
Psychologists have studied for years whether material possessions make us happy. The topic has been covered extensively in popular media, such as PBS, CNN and The Atlantic. In the article "Waiting for Merlot: Anticipatory Consumption of Experiential and Material Purchases" published last year in Psychological Science, researchers Amit Kumar, Matthew A. Killingsworth, and Thomas Gilovich, write that, "Consumers derive value from anticipation, and that value tends to be greater for experiential than for material purchases." In other words we get as much if not more pleasure waiting for events to happen and from the build up to so something than from a physical gift. (Think about your excitement planning a vacation or waiting for summer break when you were a child as opposed to how you feel a few hours or days after you've acquired a possession.)
In our daily lives, think of the little events that bring us delight or make us happy: that first sip of coffee or tea in the morning, the crispness of a ironed shirt, affection from a pet, or even getting the opportunity to urinate after you've had to hold it in for so long. Experiencing and acknowledging delight can be a gift we give to ourselves every day.
Kris Carr, founder of Crazy Sexy Wellness encourages her readers to "Let Delight Be Your Compass". She writes, "What would happen if you put your ideas, to-dos, and opportunities through the filter of delight? If you closed your eyes, tuned into your body, and asked this simple question: Would this delight me? Try it." Carr says that using delight as a barometer goes beyond a simple yes or no response to the question. Choosing to live in delight helps us stay in the present and to focus on tasks and people who bring us joy (as opposed to those who tire us and wear us down).
Political theorist Hannah Arendtsaid to dedicate yourself "to the good we deserve and desire. Give yourself peace of mind ... You deserve delight." This is a gift we can all give ourselves this holiday season.