the Practice of Identifying Celebrations

Last week we talked about the presence of tolerations in our lives and the ways we can identify them. I even talked a bit about what it was like when I “de-tolerated” a part of my life. It wasn’t “OMG AMAZING” but it wasn’t bad, either — a definite improvement.

I can’t give you much of an update on it, as I’ve been climbing trees in Maryland all weekend, but I’m betting that when I do get home late tomorrow afternoon I’ll look at my desk and there will be a little tinge of satisfaction — seeing it arranged in a way that works just for me.

I suspect that, like Tony Stark looking for a secret door, when I see those things just so, there will be a tiny “Yay!” inside my head.

Celebration Awareness

That’s the flip-side of tolerations: celebrations. And let’s not mix those up with “gratitude practice” or some “count your blessings” mantra. The former is a blatant attempt to reprogram your mind, and the latter is somewhere between religion and privilege awareness. None of that is bad — but no what I’m talking about.

Celebrations, like tolerations, are tiny aspects of your environment, consciously or unconsciously put there, that make your life more enjoyable. The feeling of a favorite coffee mug. The balanced feeling of a familiar yoga pose. Getting into a car you like, looking out of a window to the landscape of the place you call home. Any of these can be celebrations.

Like tolerations, they can be easy to miss. But just as tolerations take advantage of a lack of slack, celebrations are a buffer against shocks — recognizing them can help you shrug off the next bad thing that comes your way, rather than let it slide you that much closer towards a bad mood.

Take a quick check now: around you, what celebrations do you see? If you don’t see enough, or any, that means one of two things: either you’re out of practice (and need to get better) or else you have some work to do.