😊 🌼 Things That Make Me Happy - The Slow Life Stories - Bedtime Stories for Adults - Cozy Stories for Grownups and All Ages

Welcome to The Slow Life - A village filled with cozy stories for everyone. This story is called Things That Make Me Happy, and it’s about noticing in every moment, slowing down on purpose, and delving deeper.

🇨🇦 These stories are written, edited and narrated by Jennifer Zwicker.

Support this podcast at Patreon, here

~~~~

Benefits of listening to cozy stories or adult bedtime stories with The Slow Life:

1. Relaxation and Stress Relief

• You want to unwind after a stressful day.

• The gentle pacing, soothing tone, and comforting narratives help calm your mind and body.

2. Help Falling Asleep

• Many people use bedtime stories as a sleep aid. We’ve been told ours help.

• A calming story distracts from anxious or racing thoughts, making it easier to drift off. Especially with a second reading as we have, because you already know what happens.

3. Comfort and Nostalgia

• You’re looking for the emotional safety and warmth that often comes with familiar or gently imaginative stories.

• Cozy stories can evoke fond childhood memories or a sense of being cared for.

4. Escape and Imagination

• A peaceful story can provide a gentle escape from reality without overstimulation.

• Listeners enjoy being transported to a calm village, a peaceful garden, or a quaint and cozy inn.

5. Mindfulness and Presence

• The slow, descriptive nature of cozy storytelling encourages a mindful focus on the present.

• It can be a form of meditative listening, grounding you, the listener, in sensory details and slow pacing.

6. Companionship and Connection

• Perhaps, for people who live alone or feel lonely, a narrator’s voice can feel like friendly company.

• It’s a quiet, non-demanding form of social presence.

🧡 Bedtime stories for grown ups

🧡 Bedtime stories for kids

🧡 Meditation story

Things That Make Me Happy is a story about noticing and journaling about the simple things during our day. There is beauty, there is comfort. It may help put you to sleep. Calming stories to help you sleep. Relieve anxiety.

⚠️ Take care listening while driving or doing any activity that requires your full attention.

• All stories - Copyright Jennifer Zwicker 2024, 2025

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Welcome to the 50th episode of The Slow Life.
Thank you for being here. Whether you've listened to all
50 Cosy stories so far, or this is your first, or any number in
between, you are appreciated. I'll read this story 2 times to

(00:24):
help you zone out or even fall asleep during the second
reading. This story is called Things That
Make Me Happy, and it's about noticing in every moment,
slowing down on purpose, and delving deeper.

(00:48):
Summer has arrived in date and for the most part in weather,
I'm happy. I left the window open overnight
to feel the warm breeze upon awakening as it cooperates by
filtering through the screen andbrushing over my face and arms.

(01:10):
I turned my head towards my night stand where I'd set my
journal and pen before. My eyes felt heavy and ready for
sleep. A good sleep I've had too.
I know because I'd awoken in thesame position in which I had
dozed off. This also makes me happy.

(01:33):
After noticing these two things before even sitting up in bed, I
lie here wondering what else brings me happiness.
This gives me an idea for a fun project for myself.
I opened my journal to a fresh page, writing in my neatest hand

(01:55):
across the top 50 things that make me happy.
I choose 50 because it's a nice round Number, and it's a high
enough one that instead of scanning over the day, or even
each moment as a whole, I'll need to delve deeper into the

(02:16):
noticing. I give myself an easy beginning
by writing what's already made me smile, the warm breeze on my
skin, waking up after a good sleep, and turning to a new page
in my journal, which is like a frequent fresh start.

(02:39):
This list isn't something I wantto accomplish right away in one
sitting. I decide to collect my 50 things
over the course of the week, writing only those things that I
experience at the time, not simply brainstorming everything
I can think of. My body and mind are now ready

(03:04):
to get up to see what today willbring.
Once I'm dressed, I remember to take my journal and pen with me,
as I will do for the next 7 days.
I've barely made it to the bottom of the stairs, thinking
that I could already have filledhalf the page by seeing things

(03:26):
that make me happy. But this list isn't all about
material things, although there will be some physical objects
included for sure. My new sun dress I'm wearing for
the first time being one of them.
I don't drink coffee every day, or even very often at all, but

(03:50):
it's full energizing aroma is one of my favorites.
So on to the page and into my cup it goes.
I naturally write a sentence or two about each entry, not just a
numbered list of what, but the why is included as well.

(04:12):
With my journal tucked under my arm, my mug and a fresh biscuit
in hand, I step on to the back porch where the sun blooms
through my orange patio umbrella, turning everything
beneath it golden and warm, likethe colour of honey.

(04:32):
The colour of happiness, really.I take a seat for longer than I
mean to, watching bees drift between blossoms and the gentle
breeze rocking the umbrella onlyslightly, making that quiet
creaking sound I love. Over the next few days, I

(04:56):
continue filling in blank spacesof my journal, and the seemingly
insubstantial moments of my weekare transformed into meaningful
ones. I notice so much more.
The scent of damp basil after watering my pots of herbs.

(05:17):
The soft clink of a spoon being set on a saucer while I sit at
the tea shop. The way the sky darkens before
the summer thunderstorm arrives.Once I begin looking, the world
offers these moments freely, andone right after the other, I

(05:40):
only have to pay attention. I get an e-mail from the
library, and the thrill of seeing that the book I had on
hold has arrived feels so good it surprises me.
I smile like I've received a love letter.
I leave right away to go pick itup, but I don't hurry on the

(06:03):
short walk. The smell of wild pink roses has
me stopping at almost every front yard where they're close
enough to put my nose up to them.
The walk home is slower than usual as well.
I carry the book, plus another one that called to me from the

(06:26):
new books display in my bag. Like precious treasures, my list
grows as I hear the trickle of asmall fountain in someone's
garden pond. A puppy still finding his
footing, trippy trips towards meto say hello.

(06:48):
I get hops and kisses as if I'm just the person he wants to see.
Some days the list grows faster on farmers market mourning,
especially when the stalls are full of early summer fruit and
the air is full of the sounds ofpaper bags crinkling and

(07:10):
heartfelt greetings between neighbors and friends.
There's something about holding strawberries so ripe they leave
pink marks on your fingers, choosing which flowers to put on
my table, and of course, smelling fresh bread still warm

(07:31):
from the oven. Other things I write about come
in quieter moments. The feeling of clean sheets on a
freshly made bed, the soft weight of a cat or two resting
on my lap. Even the act of folding

(07:51):
dishcloths into neat squares on a slow afternoon becomes a kind
of meditation. I have a feeling this may go
well past 50. When sunlight dapples the wall
through Maple leaves outside my windows, When I catch sight of

(08:11):
someone's laundry drying in the fresh air a few houses down.
When I stretch first thing in the morning and feel every inch
of sleep fall away. It grows when I sit on the steps
in the evening, watching fireflies blink across the lawn,

(08:32):
and again when I hear the faint echo of crickets through an open
window as I washed the last dishof the night.
It's the morning of the 7th day and I've almost finished.
Certainly I could have jotted down hundreds more, but I stuck

(08:53):
to my title at the top of the page.
Although I do know I'll continueadding to it, both on paper and
in my thoughts. As we all seem to be learning.
Happiness lives in the simplest places, under pergolas, covered

(09:14):
in vines, in the sound of birds singing, in the glow after the
rain, and in the making of lists.
Things that make me happy. Summer has arrived in date and

(09:37):
for the most part in weather, I'm happy.
I left the window open overnightto feel the warm breeze upon
awakening as it cooperates by filtering through the screen and
brushing over my face and arms. I turned my head towards my

(09:58):
night stand where I'd set my journal and pen before.
My eyes felt heavy and ready forsleep.
A good sleep I've had too. I know because I'd awoken in the
same position in which I had dozed off.
This also makes me happy. After noticing these two things

(10:22):
before even sitting up in bed, Ilie here wondering what else
brings me happiness. This gives me an idea for a fun
project for myself. I opened my journal to a fresh
page, writing in my neatest handacross the top 50 things that

(10:44):
make me happy. I choose 50 because it's a nice
round Number, and it's a high enough one that instead of
scanning over the day, or even each moment as a whole, I'll
need to delve deeper into the noticing.
I give myself an easy beginning by writing what's already made

(11:09):
me smile, the warm breeze on my skin, waking up after a good
sleep, and turning to a new pagein my journal, which is like a
frequent fresh start. This list isn't something I want
to accomplish right away in one sitting.

(11:31):
I decide to collect my 50 thingsover the course of the week,
writing only those things that Iexperience at the time, not
simply brainstorming everything I can think of.
My body and mind are now ready to get up to see what today will

(11:52):
bring. Once I'm dressed, I remember to
take my journal and pen with me,as I will do for the next 7
days. I've barely made it to the
bottom of the stairs, thinking that I could already have filled
half the page by seeing things that make me happy.

(12:13):
But this list isn't all about material things, although there
will be some physical objects included for sure.
My new sun dress I'm wearing forthe first time being one of
them. I don't drink coffee every day,
or even very often at all, but it's full energizing aroma is

(12:38):
one of my favorites. So on to the page and into my
cup it goes. I naturally write a sentence or
two about each entry, not just anumbered list of what, but the
why is included as well. With my journal tucked under my

(13:00):
arm, my mug and a fresh biscuit in hand, I step on to the back
porch where the sun blooms through my orange patio
umbrella, turning everything beneath it golden and warm, like
the colour of honey. The colour of happiness, really.

(13:22):
I take a seat for longer than I mean to, watching bees drift
between blossoms and the gentle breeze rocking the umbrella only
slightly, making that quiet creaking sound I love.
Over the next few days, I continue filling in blank spaces

(13:44):
of my journal, and the seeminglyinsubstantial moments of my week
are transformed into meaningful ones.
I notice so much more. The scent of damp basil after
watering my pots of herbs. The soft clink of a spoon being

(14:05):
set on a saucer while I sit at the tea shop.
The way the sky darkens before the summer thunderstorm arrives.
Once I begin looking, the world offers these moments freely, and
one right after the other, I only have to pay attention.

(14:29):
I get an e-mail from the library, and the thrill of
seeing that the book I had on hold has arrived feels so good
it surprises me. I smile like I've received a
love letter. I leave right away to go pick it
up, but I don't hurry on the short walk.

(14:51):
The smell of wild pink roses hasme stopping at almost every
front yard where they're close enough to put my nose up to
them. The walk home is slower than
usual as well. I carry the book, plus another
one that called to me from the new books display in my bag.

(15:15):
Like precious treasures, my listgrows as I hear the trickle of a
small fountain in someone's garden pond.
A puppy still finding his footing, trippy trips towards me
to say hello. I get hops and kisses as if I'm

(15:36):
just the person he wants to see.Some days the list grows faster
on farmers market mourning, especially when the stalls are
full of early summer fruit and the air is full of the sounds of
paper bags crinkling and heartfelt greetings between

(15:58):
neighbors and friends. There's something about holding
strawberries so ripe they leave pink marks on your fingers,
choosing which flowers to put onmy table, and of course,
smelling fresh bread still warm from the oven.

(16:19):
Other things I write about come in quieter moments.
The feeling of clean sheets on afreshly made bed, the soft
weight of a cat or two resting on my lap, even the act of
folding dishcloths into neat squares on a slow afternoon

(16:41):
becomes a kind of meditation. I have a feeling this may go
well past 50. When sunlight dapples the wall
through Maple leaves outside my windows, When I catch sight of
someone's laundry drying in the fresh air a few houses down.

(17:02):
When I stretch first thing in the morning and feel every inch
of sleep fall away. It grows when I sit on the steps
in the evening, watching fireflies blink across the lawn,
and again when I hear the faint echo of crickets through an open

(17:23):
window as I washed the last dishof the night.
It's the morning of the 7th day and I've almost finished.
Certainly I could have jotted down hundreds more, but I stuck
to my title at the top of the page.
Although I do know I'll continueadding to it, both on paper and

(17:48):
in my thoughts. As we all seem to be learning.
Happiness lives in the simplest places, under pergolas, covered
in vines, in the sound of birds singing, in the glow after the
rain, and in the making of lists.

(18:12):
I wish you happiness and sweet dreams.