India Arie sang "It's the little things and the joy they bring" twenty whole years ago (go ahead and take a moment to process that. We OLD, fam!) and the lyrics to that undeniable bop are still just as relevant as ever.
Except maybe the lines about phone calls - nobody calls anyone now. We have voice notes and messaging apps for that, India.
The last time I used my phone as a phone I had to actually search for the icon to make that outgoing call. Grumbled about how it could have been a voice note the whole time.
"This could have been a voice note" is the 2022 version of "this could have been an email" - but aside from that, Arie's lyrics are nothing but truth.
Reddit user praguru14 asked:
"What simple things make you happy?"
And it's time to talk about the little joys in life because honestly, we'll take the shot of happiness wherever we can find it.
India talked about sweet tea with honey, calls from her siblings, and time with her parents.
Let's see what Reddit thinks about when they focus on the little joys.
A Storm
Storm Thunder GIF
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"A thunderstorm and a window that's cracked open just so"
- Because-Im-ginger
"I love watching thunderstorms. Even after my house was hit by lightning when I was 12. Still fascinated by them."
- tingulz
"Lovely :’)"
- gameoverman89
Me, Myself, and I
"Alone time"
- SwedishKiwiGuy
"That was my first thought, too!"
"I love alone time in the forest. Just having a walk by myself. Or a drive while listening to music."
- My-Color-Is-RED
"The joy of alone time is one of the reasons I run in the wee hours."
- Jmen4Ever
So Detailed
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"A clear, sunny day where the temperature is about 70 degrees with a slight breeze, and the sky is a deep blue."
"Sitting in a park or a forest clearing, breathing in fresh air, and the green of the trees contrasting the blue of the sky in just the right way."
"A small stream flows behind you as you stare at the sky."
- Benjamin_Wrench
"You just described my afternoon. Right down to the small stream that flows behind my home."
- Frosthinz
Road Trip!
"I live in the east coast."
"When I see a car with plates from somewhere far away like Alaska, Oregon or California I like to imagine the people in that car doing the long road trip to get to the east coast. That they had some adventures, saw some beautiful sights and made some special memories on the road."
- PlanetOfTheAprons
"That's so wonderful."
"My husband and I are both from the Northern Territory (Australia), but we live down south now."
"Every time we see a car with those white and orange Territory license plates that are all numbers - and especially if the car is sporting red dirt they haven't managed to wash off - it always makes us smile and point it out to each other."
"Like seeing a distant relative we haven't seen for ages, and we always have a look to see if it's someone we know."
"It's like seeing a little piece of home."
- FormalMango
"West coaster here, I do the same thing with you guys :)"
- Tor_2ga
"So wholesome!"
- Barnowl79
Special Someone
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"When my husband and I have the whole weekend off together, and we're on the same sleeping pattern (which is really rare for us.)"
"Just spending time together, hanging out. Eating a lazy lunch and watching movies all afternoon."
"Being with him makes me happy."
- FormalMango
"Same with me and my girlfriend. We really enjoy each other’s company."
- Danoof64
"That's beautiful."
- Illustrious_Charge88
Book Smell
"Book smell"
- Zalucrat
"Ah, yes. Before I start reading, I bring the book close to my face and do the page flipping thing with my thumb and take a big whiff"
- pineappleprincess_13
"Or the smell of a store full of used books. It’s kind of a dusty book smell."
- diet_pepsi_lover
"My school had a store room with a bunch of textbooks, stationary and reams of paper."
"I used to love helping out my teacher or the librarian fetch things from there cause I got to spend a few minutes just breathing in the book smell. It was so calming."
- tintin93yalls
Humans best friend
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"My dog"
- arthurdent00
"I love my little (though not actually little because she is the size of a normal dog) dog."
- MZFunkyboi
"After almost every walk, my dog hops up on his blanket, digs around on it for 30-45 seconds until he gets it just the way he likes it, then plops down with a satisfied grin on his face."
"Makes me smile every damn time."
- lbeaty1981
Connection and Clean
"I really like sweeping."
"It makes me feel connected to the rest of humanity....Pretty much everybody who has ever lived has swept at some point."
"Also, immediately clean floors is nice."
- father_jarman
"Thats a neat point of view!"
"I'll have to mull that one over at the end of the day when I'm sweeping up the days metal chips from the floor around my machines."
- TheRuralEngineer
Rain
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"Rain on the roof at night while being tucked up in bed."
- Smurf_x
"Rain itself makes me happy."
"I'm one of the few people who absolutely love rain. Instant morale boost in my everyday life."
"Whether it's droplets, drizzle, torrential, cold or warm, I take every chance to go outside."
"When I'm having a bad day I often think: well, at least it's raining."
- EingestricheneOktave
"I agree about the rain. Not when it's cold though."
"But if it's warm, I like to go outside and stand in it, sometimes. It feels nice."
- teddypa1981
"Bonus points if there's rumbling thunder in the distance."
- LetterkennyGinger
Human Moments
"Everybody who posted before me is getting an upvote because it is so comforting to see all the intimate moments we share as humans even when we are apart."
"Been on a 6 year long mental health journey and sometimes this wholesome stuff shows me the compassion that isn’t often advertised"
"Let it ride my doods"
-Remarkable-Dog2418
Your turn.
What little joys do you find yourself leaning in on?
Let's share some happy in the comments.
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Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Every now and then, a friend of ours might say something, or we might overhear a complete stranger say something that makes us stop in our tracks.
More often than not, what we can't believe we just heard is something so ridiculous, we can't help but put the person who said it in their place.
Other times, however, what we just heard might have stunned us silent because of how shockingly clever it was.
Resulting in our not wanting to scold or yell at someone, but rather give them a handshake.
Redditor SubmergingOriginal was curious to hear the sharpest and wittiest things they've ever heard, from friends and strangers alike, leading them to ask:
"Enough with the dumbest; what is the wittiest thing you've ever heard someone say?"
Don't Give Me So Much Credit...
'I was on a team at work that was on a project working insane overtime."
"One night after an 80-90 hour week, we were all sitting around the table trying to finish up so we could go home."
"Around 11, my buddy's wife called, dubious about the hours he'd been keeping."
"We heard her through the line - 'are you cheating on me?'"
"Exasperated, he looked at our boss, then replied 'honey, if I was cheating on you, I would have been home by now'."- lionbatcher
Eternal Optimism...
"Asked a blind guy if he'd been blind his whole life."
"He said 'Not yet'."- Feeling_Mode_6465
Free time Isn't The Only Thing He Has On His Hands...
"My brother got a vasectomy and when the doctor was releasing him and giving him instructions (with the nurse listening in), one of the orders was to 'come back and have a follow-up appointment after you’ve ejaculated 30 times'.”
"Without missing a beat my brother asked 'what time do you open tomorrow?'”
"The nurse couldn’t keep it together after hearing that."- UtahUtopia
Awkward Season 8 GIF by The Office
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Double Whammy!
"My pal uses the phrase 'he doesn’t look strong enough to carry information' and it cracks me up every time."
"Calling someone stupid and weak in one fell swoop."- JennyW93
Can't Hide Your DNA...
'Whenever I jokingly insult my mum, she says 'that must be where you get it from'."
"She cracked the code."
"I can never offend her without offending myself."- JennyW93
Self-Sufficient!
"My brother was a line cook at a New Orleans restaurant."
"My mom was in town, staying at a fancy hotel, and he stopped by after work, still wearing his kitchen whites."
"He was reading a newspaper in the lobby waiting for her to come down when the shocked lobby manager sputtered at him, 'MAY I HELP YOU!?!?'
"He answered, 'thanks, but I know how to read',” and went back to his paper."- jobrody
Morph Current Affairs GIF by Aardman Animations
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A Miracle!
"My brother-in-law’s comment."
"The entire family went out for my mother’s 80th birthday and after the meal we all went to a local park, largely occupied by the elderly, to rest."
"My mother needed crutches at this point, and they were resting against her bench."
"My 10-year-old niece, who looked like every starving waif image from Dickens, grabbed the crutches and started hobbling round the park."
"All the OAPs were following her progress with looks of pity until my brother ran up behind her, and kicked away the crutches."
"There was an audible gasp from round the park and then my niece picked the crutches back up and started chasing my brother, clearly intending to hit him."
"In the confused silence my brother-in-law’s voice rang out 'Praise be! She can walk again!'"
"We still think this was the highlight of the birthday celebrations."- DdraigGwyn
Still Legal, Whichever Way You Cut It...
"I picked up my pleasantly tipsy boyfriend from a nightclub."
"We were stopped by the Police for a random breath test."
"They asked me my age, and I said, 33."
"My bf blurted out '33? You told me you were 22'."
"Police just laughed and let me go."- Aggravating-Corgi379
Music Video Police GIF by Andrew W. K.
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A Bit Too On The Nose?
"Business law class in college years ago, talking about the issues that black Americans had before the Civil Rights."
"Amendment, trying to travel through the south with the discrimination so rampant, trying to find restaurants to serve them and decent lodgings."
"My instructor was posing a hypothetical: 'So you pull up out front of this place, you're exhausted from driving for hours, and you see the sign out front says 'Ku Klux Klan Motel'."
"'What would you expect to find there?'"
"Without missing a beat, from the back of the room came this gem: "'Extra sheets in every room?'"- NedsAtomicDB
Not Yet, Anyway...
"I was working with my friend and his dad."
"My friend (26) heard an ice cream truck near where we were working."
"He asked his dad if he could have a couple dollars."
"His dad asked, 'what for?'"
"My friend told his dad that there was an ice cream truck in the neighborhood, and that they were playing music."
"My friends dad told him "'They don't charge anything to listen to the music'."- tatersalad1234567890
Words Escape You In The Literal "Heat" Of The Moment...
"A friend of mine is a teacher and her husband is known for his wit."
"She told this story to him:"
"One day at school a kid took the hall pass and returned reeking like smoke."
"She asked the kid if he’d been smoking and he denied it over and over."
"She was about to send him to the office when she noticed smoke coming from somewhere."
"She told the kid and he realized that he didn’t put his cig out completely and it was burning in his pants pocket."
"The kid noticed and frantically tried to put it out and someone finally poured water on it."
"Her husband sat listening to this with a weird look on his face."
"She asked him what was wrong."
“'What’s wrong???'"
"'This was probably the only chance you’ll have in your life to say literally, ‘liar,liar, pants on fire’ and you missed your chance'."- Luder714
On Fire No GIF by PEEKASSO
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Amazing What You Might Say A Few Drinks In...
"When I went to a renaissance faire once, I went to a beer tent and ordered a Newcastle Brown Ale (seemed the most fitting for the surroundings)."
"The beer wench, without skipping a beat, said, 'Everyone wants a Newcastle - no one wants to remodel!'"- jayhof52
Read The Room People!
"My dad wiped out when skiing down a mountain and lost a ski."
"After a few minutes of hunting for it, he gives up, slings the one remaining ski over a shoulder and starts walking down the mountain in his ski boots."
"About half-way down, another skier stops and goes 'Gee! Did you lose a ski?'"
"My dad instantly replied 'No, I was out for a walk and found one!'"- PeterJoAl
There's a reason your mother always told you to "use your words".
As clever remarks can have a much more lasting effect on people than a push or shove.
