25 Sensual pleasures for 2025

Creativity means engaging the senses...

The clock turns, the number flips upwards — a new solar year inches it’s way over the horizon and the minutes of daylight stretch and expand, pulling us towards Spring.

I’m only just getting there though — I like to hang around right here, in the inky dark of winter. December and January, for me, represent a time of real reflection, an opportunity to pause and look at what the last twelve months brought and what it all might mean.

I like to use this time to think about time itself, how it’s passing, how I’m using it, what’s changing (both on a personal level and worldwide), what works or doesn’t work, what’s missing and still needs to be invited in.

With each passing year, time speeds up. Life seems to become more stressful for the majority of us, so slowing down is essential. We cannot hope to access our creativity if our nervous systems are on high alert, but stepping off the treadmill is easier said than done.

With that in mind, I’ve put together this list of simple pleasures to engage the senses.

When we mindfully connect to our physical senses, we can access more calm. We can tune out the overwhelm and overthinking. We survive another moment, another day, with a little more grace.

If we take time to observe, listen, feel and notice the little things every day, our creativity can only flourish in 2025, as well as making our days a little more enchanting.

Here’s a list of some favourites off the top of my head (hundreds more where they came from!) so try to write your own and use it as a reminder throughout the year. Keep adding to it, with anything that delights and ignites your sense of wonder.

5 Visuals

Sun rises and sun sets

The look of tenderness in a loved one’s eyes

Every day objects, frequently used but rarely noticed

A map of patterns on a leaf

The colours, shapes and dreams when you close your eyes, visible to you alone

5 Sounds

The cat’s paws, padding across the floor

Boots scrunching and crunching through snow and ice

Waves washing in, gently nudging the shore

The low rumble of voices and what they’re not saying

Heavy rain on the roof, gentle footfall coming up the stairs

5 Scents

Pine and cypress, on a hot day

A salty sea breeze hanging low like a blanket

The curve of their neck when they hug you tight

Coffee brewed and bread baking

The crisp air of a fresh early morning

5 Tastes

Stinging citrus in wintertime — grapefruit, orange, kumquat and lime

Seawater on the lips

Hot bursts of pepper and buttery pastry

But nothing so perfect as a glass of clean water

5 Feelings

Warm sunshine, seeping into the bones

The squeeze of a hand

Silk on the skin or oil massaged in

Cool water as you pause, take a breathe, and plunge yourself into the sea

Hit reply or comment with your favourite sensory moments which never fail to make you pause, notice and appreciate the world around you. Which of these most spark your creativity?