Ollie recently showed me the Oddly Satisfying Reddit, and after losing a couple of hours of my life looking at spiral clouds and perfect snowflakes, I started thinking about Satisfaction. That Ahhh feeling we all get when shit just feels right. Have I had moments of great satisfaction? Is what satisfies me the same as everyone else?
The first thing that comes to mind is the satisfaction I felt finishing my Bachelors degree. I didn’t do the 3 years full-time thing, living in the comfort of my parent’s home. I switched universities and degrees, moved cities, went through breakups, jobs and friendships. I worked on it intermittently for years, part-time while I worked full-time. A very difficult balancing act. When I graduated in December 2015, I finally got that heavy albatross off my tired fucking neck. Wearing that stupid mortarboard and gown I felt gratification wash over me, I’d conquered it at last.
Perhaps slightly less kosher but equally as powerful was a day I spent topless swimming in Italy with my best friend. While I was the whitest woman on the beach by far, surrounded by a bunch of buxom, brown Europeans. I felt truly liberated, content, at one with Mother Nature. The sun beaming down on my bare breasts, I let the ocean take me; soothe me, refresh me, heal me. I wasn’t bothered by passers-by or worried about perceptions or opinions, and that was deeply satisfying.
I also get a satisfaction kick from snipping my locks and I’ve got seriously addicted to the invigorating feeling it bestows. Cutting off those dry, dead, split ends pleases me beyond belief. It’s like the dead hair is representative of any shit things that have happened to me in the weeks prior and I’m given an opportunity to cut it out and start afresh. Similarly, getting the opportunity to shave Ollie’s head every couple of weeks is something I revel in. I love shearing perfect lines, snipping the little spikey flyaways and straightening up his sideburns. It’s a wholly fulfilling activity because the results are immediate; he looks so fresh and so clean, clean.
Satisfaction can be found in small things too; the cracking of a crème brûlée, the peeling of PVA glue from skin, the snuggling after sex. The first sip of my morning peppermint tea or the moment I flop into bed post shower super relaxed. I think whenever it happens, whatever causes it - it’s important to relish in your satisfaction. To really be present and enjoy the moment. It really is a fantastic sensation, and very hard to beat.