This challenge is simple: step back for a few minutes each week to find a lovely thing, a precious moment, anything you find lovely. Then post about it. You can just post a picture or you can go into detail and tell it as a reflection, story or poem.

It could be anything:

a smile…a rainbow…a flower…a kind act…a tasty treat

What was lovely in your life this week?

Logistics

You can create a ping-back, by adding a link to this post in your post, or put your link in the comments below. You can also share you lovely in a comment, although I won’t be able to put that into the weekly roundup. Also, on a post use the tag “whatsoever-is-lovely”, in case the links don’t work for some reason, I’ve had some mysterious disappearing links recently.

Here is a banner/badge that you can use if you wish:

I will post once a week, Sunday at noon in Seattle (8pm GMT) is my goal, and put a list of posts from the previous week in it. Basically using the same method I do with the Pull up a Seat Challenge.

Background

We live in a world that seems to value drama, anger, fear and violence. Being mean often passes for being smart. These are the things that “go viral”, magnified in the media. Sometimes, the things that really make life worth living are small and simple. They don’t make for good TikTok. This is a chance to share that type of moment from our lives.

Gan Xingfu (chasing happiness) 赶兴福

I recently learned a new word in Chinese: “gan” third tone, which means to chase or try to catch. I was intrigued with the phrase gan3 shi2 jian1 (chasing or trying to catch time). More prosaically it is also used with train, bus or airplane. I decided to try and catch happiness. It seemed appropriate since the name of this blog comes from one of the words for happiness in Chinese.

The idea is to encourage a happier frame of mind by focusing on the good. Just to take a little time to recognize the lovely in our lives.

The title for the challenge comes one of my favorite Bible passages:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Philippians 4:8

My offering

There are so many birds in my yard and around the neighborhood right now. I am charmed by their tweeting and trying to spot them as they blend in with the branches of the trees. Even on really dark days they seem to be everywhere.