The Art of Succulent Living

By Amara Charles
Author of The Sexual Practices of Quodoushka
Founder of Deeply Bonded Love
Private Mentoring and Intimacy Retreats

Every day, I ask myself: What makes a life worth living? What makes us feel alive, passionate, and content? How can we live with more pleasure, beauty, and ease?

The answers I keep finding revolve around one word: succulence.

The word succulent means to be full of juice, to be rich in desirable qualities. Living succulently means living with more texture, more flavour and more pleasure in everyday moments.    

Think of a ripe peach bursting with juice and sweetness. That's succulence. Think of the way sunlight feels on your skin on a perfect spring morning. That's succulence too.    

Living succulently isn't about grand gestures or peak experiences. It's about savouring the small moments that make up a life. It's about bringing more awareness, more presence, and yes - more pleasure - into everything we do.

Here are some ways to bring more succulence into your daily life: 
1. Slow Down
Most of us rush through our days on autopilot. Try slowing down enough to really taste your morning coffee. Feel the warmth of the mug in your hands. Inhale the aroma. Let yourself fully experience this simple pleasure.

2. Use All Your Senses
We tend to live primarily in our heads, but our bodies are incredible instruments of pleasure. Throughout your day, pause to notice what you're seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling.

3. Find Beauty Everywhere 
Beauty isn't just in art museums or scenic vistas. It's in the steam rising from your tea cup, the pattern of rain drops on a window, the way shadows play on a wall. Train yourself to notice beauty in ordinary things.

4. Make Everything a Ritual
Even mundane tasks can become sacred rituals when done with full presence. Whether you're washing dishes, preparing a meal, or taking a shower - bring your full attention to the sensations and movements.

5. Connect with Nature
Nature is the ultimate teacher of succulence. Spend time outdoors. Notice the intricate patterns in leaves, the feel of grass under your feet, the sound of birds. Let nature remind you how to be fully alive.

6. Move with Pleasure
Instead of treating exercise as a chore, focus on movements that feel good in your body. Dance, stretch, walk - whatever brings you pleasure. Let your body guide you.

7. Create Beauty
Make your environment more beautiful in simple ways - fresh flowers, candlelight, music you love. Surround yourself with things that delight your senses.

8. Practice Gratitude
Appreciation amplifies pleasure. Take time each day to notice what you're grateful for - from the big things to the tiniest details that bring you joy.

Living succulently doesn't require changing your whole life. It's about bringing more awareness and appreciation to the life you already have. It's about choosing pleasure over rushing, presence over distraction, beauty over efficiency.

When we live this way, everything becomes more vivid, more alive. Food tastes better. Colors seem brighter. Relationships feel deeper. We start experiencing life as it's meant to be lived - rich with meaning, sensation and joy.

This is the art of succulent living - making every moment count, finding pleasure in small things, and letting yourself be nourished by beauty in all its forms.

1. Slow Down: Most of us rush through our days on autopilot. Try slowing down enough to really taste your morning coffee. Feel the warmth of the mug in your hands. Inhale the aroma. Let yourself fully experience this simple pleasure. 

2. Use All Your Senses: We tend to live primarily in our heads, but our bodies are incredible instruments of pleasure. Throughout your day, pause to notice what you're seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling.

3. Find Beauty Everywhere: Beauty isn't just in art museums of scenic vistas. it's in the steam rising from your teacup, the pattern of raindrops on a window, the way shadows play on a wall. Train yourself to notice beauty in ordinary things.

4. Make Everything a Ritual: Even mundane tasks can become sacred rituals when done with full presence. Whether you're washing dishes, preparing a meal, or taking a shower - bring your full attention to the sensations and movements.

5. Connect with Nature: Nature is the ultimate teacher of succulence. Spend time outdoors. Notice the intricate patterns in leaves, the feel of grass under your feet, the sound of birds. Let nature remind you how to be fully alive.

6. Move with Pleasure: Instead of treating exercise as a chore, focus on movements that feel good in your body. Dance, stretch, walk - whatever brings you pleasure. Let your body guide you.

7. Create Beauty: Make your environment more beautiful in simple ways - fresh flowers, candlelight, music you love. Surround yourself with things that delight your senses.

8. Practice Gratitude: Appreciation amplifies pleasure. Take time each day to notice what you're grateful for - from the big things to the tiniest details that bring you joy. 

Living succulently doesn't require changing your whole life. It's about bringing more awareness and appreciation to the life you already have. It's about choosing pleasure over rushing, presence over distraction, and beauty over efficiency.

When we live this way, everything becomes more vivid, more alive. Food tastes better. Colours seem brighter. Relationships feel deeper. We start experiencing life as it's meant to be lived - rich with meaning, sensation, and joy.

This is the art of succulent living - making every moment count, finding pleasure in small things, and letting yourself be nourished by beauty in all its forms.

In beauty,
Amara Charles
www.amaracharles.com