Dominica Island Blog: Sharing Every Dominican Moment with the World

A little trick I like to use to make my days much more pleasant is to find little, simple pleasures and include them throughout my day.

They’re not big things, but they each simple pleasure can translate to a great day if you use them right.

So in the morning, I might have a cup of (blows) tea, and sip it slowly to enjoy it fully. I might turn the radio to listen to the local news in Dominica. I might watch the sun come up from my apartment window, and marvel at the world in pastel colors.

These are little things, and don’t really cost a thing (or not much, anyway), but they are tremendously satisfying. I have just described some of the things I might do to start off my day, but the possibilities are endless, and can be done throughout the day.

I thought it would be fun to compile a list of my simple pleasures I enjoy nearly everyday, to give you all some ideas of what I mean, and to spark other ideas of your own. Of course, you can probably come up with a thousand more, and it should also be noted that one person’s pleasures aren’t always pleasures for others.

1. Fruitcake …mmmm.
2. Listening to good music on the bus to work.
3. Taking a long, relaxing shower.
4. Blows Tea bags (Peppermint)
5. Watching the sunrise.
6. Walking on the beach.
7. Titiri ackras
8. Snuggling in bed with your partner.
9. Watching the sunset.
10. Kubuli Beer
11. Being lazy on a Sunday.
12. Laughing jokes till your sides ache.
13. Pâté banane
14. Waking to a clean house.
15. An uncluttered room.
16. Hennessy V.O.S.P and ice.
17. Pillow fights.
18. Coconut cheese
19. Helping someone in need.
20. Making someone smile.
21. A nature hike.
22. Fresh Coconut water
23. Tamarind ball
24. Fresh Baked Bread (mastiff)
25. The feeling after a good workout.

What are a few of your favorite simple pleasures? Let us know in the comments.

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This post was guest blogged by Dan Tanner of dan-ruth-tanner.com

Here in America, where everyone has credit cards and automatic teller machines (ATMs) and the Internet make banking and purchasing a 24-hour/7-day-per-week proposition, people are supposed to be somewhat sophisticated, or at least not completely naïve, financially. But that is not the case, and as a result our economy is in crisis, not just from the cost of the war in Iraq and Bush’s deficit spending and the imbalance of trade, but also because people consistently make bad choices against their own self interest. The home finance market meltdown is but one example. Sure, everyone in the picture – borrowers, lenders, brokers, bankers, traders, bond insurers, and even politicians – share in the blame, but none of it could have happened if the borrowers had exercised common sense in the first place.

Dominicans can learn from the miserable American example. My wife Ruth and I have weathered hard economic times and avoided these pitfalls. Both of had parents who were tempered by world wars and the Great Depression, and passed on to lessons that we heeded and which I’ll now share. Remember these three rules:

• 1.Know the difference between what you want and what you need.
• 2.Be patient.
• 3.Nothing is free.

I’ll illustrate these rules by giving examples:

Know the difference between what you want and what you need. My mother had an older brother and one younger. My older uncle did well in business and would make loans to his younger brothers and sisters if they needed money. He would always ask what the money was being borrowed for. It had always been for some real need; a rent payment, to pay a doctor, etc. Payback of the loans was always a matter of honor. A payment might be missed, but that was infrequent.

It was never stated, but well understood, that if for some reason a loan could not be paid back, my older uncle would not be putting his younger relatives and their families out on the street – he was not like a bank. One day his youngest brother asked for a loan and when asked what it would be for, he replied that he wanted to buy a TV set. My older uncle refused him the loan, telling his young brother that he did not need a TV set, he merely wanted one. Too often, people can’t make that distinction, and then they can’t wait for what they want, leading to the second rule.

(more…)

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Here’s to a safe and joyous holiday season for you and yours. In the event that you’re actually looking for something to read, here is a link to an article in the New York Times on the history of Black Cake or fruit Cake for your reading pleasure. In Dominica at Christmastime, black cake is everywhere. Although black cake is descended from the British plum pudding, for Dominicans, baking of fruit cake is a annual ritual which evokes a longing feeling for Dominica during the holidays season.

It will be interesting to learn - What do you miss most about Dominica at Christmas Time? Let’s hear ‘em in the comments …Wishing you a Happy Holidays!

Photo by:*Tony Cenicola/The New York Times*

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