I was getting some pretty weird looks in the grocery store today.  I can’t say I blame folks, I was being peculiar.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Here’s what happened:

I was trying to make a trip through the thick of grocery-store rush hour, making a beeline for the sour cream.  There were a bunch of people buying bread at the same time, so I made a last minute detour.

And suddenly, there I was in the natural foods aisle, picking up every bar of handmade soap and sniffing it.

In my defense, these were some beautiful bars of soap.  And some amazing flavors.  Bluebonnet.  Cinnamon.  Lavender.  Almond.

I let the sour cream wait for a bit.  (It’s not like it was going to get sour-er or anything.)

I took one minute and sniffed those soaps.  It was a quick bit of gentleness stuck in the middle of a mad rush to finish errands before rush hour.  It reminded me to breathe deeply.  It let me engage my senses.

My fellow shoppers may have been in the natural foods aisle.  But, briefly, I was in a very nice elsewhere.  And then I put the soaps away, and I got my sour cream.

The end.

Your simple vices

So, I realize tea-sipping and soap-sniffing may not work for you.  I mentioned these two because they are some of my simplest joys—small gestures where I can find haven in the middle of a stressful week (month) (year).

Maybe your grocery store doesn’t carry amazing soaps.  (I don’t know what it is about Austin, but we love our handmade soaps and teas here.)  Perhaps you object to being stared at by strangers as you sniff soaps.  That’s fine—I get it.

Your challenge is to find your very own simple, joyful, healthy vices—and then enjoy them.

Because living well isn’t always about planned vacations.  It’s also about finding the small and sometimes silly moments of respite in an otherwise ordinary day.

Like those “hidden object” puzzles in the Highlights magazines I used to read as a child, I’m determined to start discovering these hidden-in-plain-sight opportunities to bring more breath and ease back into my life.  And I invite you to do the same.

It doesn’t even have to involve tea or soap.  (But that can be a good place to start.)