A few nights ago, we went to our local theater and saw a really good play called Every Brilliant Thing. It’s the story of a guy who started a list of everyday things that brought him joy, as he tried to cope with various difficult situations in his life. By the end of the show, his list numbered a million. 

Last night, just to pass time driving in the car, my wife and I compiled a similar list. We capped it at 10 items each and eliminated all the obvious stuff like family time, etc… We also agreed to go with the first thought that came to mind without trying to make the list too thoughtful or judging it.

Here are our lists:

ME

1 Hot cheese deer bologna 

2 Prince

3 Sledding

4 The Philly Special (Go Birds!)

5 The way Roy Kent says, “F$%k”

6 Goats, especially baby goats 

7 The way my lower back snaps when I do this certain yoga stretch

8 Unscripted road trips

9 Feeling strong and meditative on a long run

10 A good salad

TAMMY

1 Unscripted road trips

2 The way the snow looks like meringue when it’s iced over

3 The look on a kid’s face when they finally get it

4 Good neighbors

5 Amy Grant Christmas songs 

6 A baby’s laugh

7 Freshly flossed teeth 

8 The smell of summer rain 

9 Crock pot recipes

10 The warmth of the sun on your face

Then we twisted the parameters a bit and made a new list of things that bring us joy at other people’s expense. For the record, Tammy is too nice, cheerful and kind for this sort of thing, but I talked her into to it on the condition that she only had to do three items instead of five.

Happy Negatives 

ME

  1. When the Dallas Cowboys suck, lose, or are in any way miserable
  2. When overly aggressive drivers get pulled over by the cops 
  3. When karma kicks people’s ass
  4. When people get screwed over by the political policies of the idiot that they voted for
  5. When figure skaters wipe out ( I know….but I can’t help it)

TAMMY

  1. The smell of the tar truck that annoys everybody in town when it passes through twice a day (Tam likes the smell)
  2. When people get screwed over by the political policies of the idiot that they voted for
  3. When someone talks smack about someone in the group chat, forgetting that this person is in the group chat

If you ever come across the play or book version of “Every Brilliant Thing”, it’s a good one to check out. Not too long, and full of good reminders about how to get through when things get tough.

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