Layering Pleasure

Why stop at only one?

I was recently introduced to the concept of layering pleasure, by a woman in a class I was taking. She said she tries to combine her favorite things—instead of just enjoying a cup of tea, she also plays good music and perhaps burns a scented candle nearby, so the accumulation of pleasure magnifies the experience.

How lovely.

I realized I had recently done the same, entirely by accident.

I had signed up to listen to an online book talk between Camille Dungy and Ross Gay, about her new book, Soil. I planned to fold laundry while I listened. It seemed the best use of the time.

At the last moment, however, I decided not to.

I’ve been trying to incorporate more art and color in my life—which mostly means I have a jar of colored pencils sitting on the table. I have grand thoughts of drawing, but rarely get beyond doodling on the edges of my day planner. What if I drew instead of folding laundry?

I have peonies on the table as well—mostly to photograph for work, but also to enjoy. These Sarah Bernhardt peonies have a lovely light fragrance.

What if I just sat here and listened and drew and smelled the flowers—for a whole hour?

And that is exactly what I did. My drawings never look how I want them to look, but the mere action of hand on paper is satisfying. And to have my brain sparked by the ideas from Camille and Ross, and the green, slightly sweet herbaceous scent of the peony, all combined in the most delightful way.

It was the best hour I have spent in a quite a while.

When I look back on this month, that is one of the moments I will remember: when so many simple pleasures combined to make something far greater than the sum of their parts.

From here on out, I will be looking for any opportunity to layer pleasure. Why only stop at one?

After years of holding myself back, I rather like the idea of becoming a pleasure glutton.



**with gratitude and credit to Cathy Clark for the idea of doubling or tripling up on pleasure. Brilliant ✨✨