delight

Delight 2: Spring Tease

Posted by Dean Shareski on in delight, facebook, linkedin 0 Comment

There’s no way to measure this but I believe those of us living on the prairies of North America have a deeper appreciation for spring and summer. When you endure -30 temperatures for a significant portion of the year, the hope of warmer weather keeps you going.

In fact, there may be a conspiracy to make sure we keep that hope.

To be fair, this has not been a particularly harsh winter but today was one of those days that prove spring is coming. Temperatures jumped up into double digits Celsius (50F for those living in backwards places who haven’t yet converted to the worldwide standard temperature format)

I don’t know how our bodies interpret this temperature in March as glorious and warm when if it was like this in September or May we may consider it chilly. It doesn’t matter. What I know is that while I’m not seeing tulips coming up yet or leaves on trees bud, you do see people ditching their coats and a few overzealous teenagers in shorts. I saw someone out hitting golf balls and kids riding their bikes. And in the true spirit of spring, I was sent out to get DQ Blizzards. … Read the rest

Delight 1: Marie from RDU

Posted by Dean Shareski on in delight, facebook, linkedin 0 Comment

Travel is a big part of my life. For the most part, I love it. I don’t just mean the destinations. I like airports, airplanes, hotels, booking travel the whole bit. I’m sure many of my delights from my delight project will be travel related.

When I travel I have certain routines and habits that allow me to move quickly and efficiently out of new places and spaces. However, I’ve not been travelling as much thus far in 2020 and admittedly have been a bit out of sorts. Case in point, a couple of weeks ago I was deplaning in Edmonton and didn’t check to ensure I had my Airpods and lost them. I wasn’t entirely sure whether they were in Edmonton or if I left them in Calgary. Still having the highest status on Air Canada I called the Concierge and they kinda tried but had me complete a standard Lost and Found report which basically made me believe I’d never see my Airpods again.

I had had them for almost 2 years. I wasn’t sure I would like them but they’ve been a part of my routine and have gotten accustomed to the wireless and size of them. … Read the rest

The Delight Project

Posted by Dean Shareski on in delight, facebook, gratitude, joy, linkedin, writing 7 Comments

My journey as an educator and human has always been centred around joy, even when I didn’t realize it. The more I reflect, the easier it becomes to see. Admittedly in my early years of teaching, I didn’t seem to have the time to reflect both and articulate that I was always seeking joy. Joy was somewhat of the antithesis to the prevailing narrative of education which was and perhaps still is focused on achievement and results.  Joy is an afterthought in many instances.


So I wrote a book. I shared those ideas in presentations and talks. Occasionally I think, “Well, you’ve exhausted that topic, maybe focus on something else.” But then I remember it’s not a trend, it’s a life long pursuit that requires our attention and effort. It’s also one of those things I have to practice daily. I appreciate that I can’t avoid thinking about and working towards joy. I look at the things I read and notice that in some form or another they support that pursuit. 


One such book is Ross Gay’s Book of Delights. It’s one man’s quest to document daily moments of delight.

Delight is to joy as a microscope is … Read the rest