Every Brilliant Thing, by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe, was performed by Alexis Colon Ortiz and directed by Dale Lyles, Sep 13–15, 2024, at the Southern Arc Dance Center.
In the show, a seven-year old boy begins a list of “every brilliant thing” worth staying alive for to give to his mother so she won’t be depressed and suicidal. At the end of the show, as a grown-up, he has over a million things on the list. The script only calls for 61 items, so we ask the world to contribute via an online form. Here are the nearly 500 items on our list. (So far.)
1 — Ice cream
2 — Water fights
3 — Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV
4 — The color yellow
5 — Things with stripes
6 — Rollercoasters
7 — People falling over.
11 — Bed
12 — A cat you love purring beside you.
13 — A dozen warm Krispy Kreme donuts
14 — A fresh jar of peanut butter
15 — A freshly sharpened pencil
16 — A good pen
17 — A great rock
18 — a new watercolor set, before you’ve messed it up creating art
19 — A purring kitty on your lap
20 — A rainy night
21 — A sprinkler raining on a trampoline on a hot summer day
22 — A tree frog on your arm
23 — Danger Mouse
24 — Spaghetti with Meatballs
25 — Wearing a cape
26 — Peeing in the sea and nobody knows.
27 — Baby swallows
28 — Baby turtles make their first journey to the sea
29 — Being told that you’re cool
30 — bubbles from a freshly opened soda tickling your nose
31 — Birdsong
32 — Building sandcastles
33 — Cats
34 — Chicken soup and ginger ale when sick
45 — Hugging
46 — Children chasing fireflies
47 — Christmas decorations
48 — Coloring sheets
49 — Comfy pajamas
50 — Cool postage stamps
51 — Cupping your hands into running water to wash your face
52 — Daffodils in the snow
53 — Describing the shapes of clouds
54 — Dolphins
55 — Eating dessert first
56 — Eating when you are really really hungry
57 — Finding a marble
58 — Finding a place no one knows exists
59 — Finding a shiny coin
60 — Fireflies
61 — Fireworks
62 — Fluffy blankets
63 — Fresh baked cinnamon rolls
64 — Gelato
65 — Going trick-or-treating
66 — Guinea pig squeaks
67 — Hearing the ice cream truck
68 — Honey bees
69 — Hot chocolate
70 — Hot dogs on the Fourth of July
71 — Kittens
72 — Looking into a kaleidoscope
73 — My dad pulling me on a sled in the snow in Alaska
74 — Peacocks
75 — Peanut butter
201 — Hammocks
202 — Playing fetch with your dog
203 — Playing in the rain
204 — Puppies
205 — Putting a new pair of socks on
206 — Seeing a puppy in a yellow raincoat
207 — Sipping honeysuckle flowers
208 — Snow angels
209 — Snowball fights
210 — Snowglobes
211 — Sparklers
212 — Standing up for yourself
213 — Standing up to a bully
214 — Sunshine on your face
215 — That first bite of your favorite meal
216 — The first flickers of fireflies in the Spring.
217 — Swinging in a hammock
249 — The smell of a new book
250 — The smell of a puppy
251 — The smell of popcorn
252 — The twinkle of Christmas lights
253 — Tinsel on a Christmas tree
275 — Tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich
276 — Turtles
280 — Twinkle Lights
291 — Warm brownies and cold milk
293 — Warm sunshine on your cheeks
294 — Watching a bully get taken down
296 — Home-made rubberband gun from your grandfather
312 — A crack in the sidewalk that looks like a dick
313 — Having a piano in the kitchen
314 — The way Ray Charles sings the word ‘you.’
315 — The smell of old books
316 — Andre Agassi
317 — The even-numbered Star Trek films
318 — Burning things
319 — Laughing so hard you shoot milk out of your nose
320 — Making up after an argument
321 — A book with a map inside the cover
322 — Art supplies
323 — Cold fresh watermelon! 🍉
324 — Nina Simone’s voice
325 — A butterfly dancing on the breeze
341 — Alcohol
342 — A Butterfly landing on your hand
343 — Bowling (for a while)
344 — Creating something, anything
345 — A comfy chair and a warm blanket to curl in as you watch the rain outside the window
346 — Defeating your enemies
347 — A full moon on a cold, clear night
349 — Drawing a picture, and looking at it when it’s done and seeing on the paper what was in your mind’s eye.
350 — A good book
351 — Camping
358 — Campfires
516 — Winning something
517 — Knowing someone well enough to get them to check your teeth for broccoli
518 — When idioms coincide with real-life occurrences, for instance: waking up, realizing something and simultaneously smelling coffee
521 — The word ‘plinth’
522 — A good hair day
523 — Driving a rural highway with lush forests on either side of the road
524 — Cheesecake
525 — A new blank book that you haven’t written in yet
526 — eating nuts or berries while hunched over close to the ground
528 — A puppy splashing in water puddles
529 — Eating watermelon over the deck rail on a warm summer evening
530 — A toaster everything bagel with cream cheese
531 — Cleaning your bare feet
532 — Any song with a muted trumpet
560 — Experiencing something for the first time and loving it.
561 — Finding a wheat penny in your change
562 — Apple brown bettys
563 — Gardens of flowers bursting with blooms
564 — Hammers
565 — Finding someone you just instantly get along with
566 — Getting a postcard in the mail
567 — Having a bunch of cookies and ruining my appetite
568 — Finishing a good book
569 — Getting so good at the Solitaire app on your phone that it stops keeping score
573 — Homemade peach ice cream on the farm
574 — Fixing the thing that couldn’t be fixed
575 — Piglets
576 — Hot showers
577 — Tea and biscuits
578 — Fountain pens
579 — Graffiti
580 — Hitting a home run, after breaking the bat when it hit the ball
581 — Freshly baked bread
582 — Hundreds of brine shrimp eggs on my fingertip, dipped from a pond; spherical, identical, potential
583 — Frost on a windowpane
584 — Full moon
585 — Glasses, contacts, and the general ability to see clearly
600 — Iridescent butterfly wings
602 — Singing when nobody can hear you
603 — Jumping in a pool on a hot day
604 — Puppy dog kisses
605 — Sledding down 17th Street hill in Murphysboro on a piece of cardboard
606 — Kissing my dog on the belly
607 — Putting the weight of a basket on your hip or head
608 — Slipping on a jacket that first cool day of fall
609 — Light sparkling through dewdrops on grass
610 — Reading a good book
611 — Stopping to watch animals moving in groups (geese, fish, horses, butterflies, bees)
626 — Lightning in a thunderstorm
627 — Remote controls
628 — Tapioca pudding
629 — Listening to a song you love over and over again until you hate it
630 — Telling stories around a fire
641 — Messages from friends
642 — Riding a bike with the wind in your face
643 — The crunch of autumn leaves underfoot
644 — Microcontrollers
645 — The first bloom of spring
646 — Music that makes you hold your breath
650 — New shoes
653 — Pizza fresh from the oven
654 — Marlon Brando
655 — The fragrance of a gardenia
656 — Tiny baby feet
657 — Warm banana bread
658 — The indescribable feeling in your heart when playing music on an instrument.
659 — To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
660 — The inspiration you feel from a good song
661 — Touching someone’s face with the back of your hand to see if they have a fever
663 — The rain and large snowflakes
673 — Watching a cat play with a piece of ice on a hard wood floor
674 — the movie Hackers
675 — Waking up to the silence of a heavy snowfall.
682 — Watching the birth of a lamb
683 — The Muppets singing The Rainbow Connection’
684 — Walking in the rain
689 — When a bee lands on your finger and hangs out with you for a few minutes
690 — The rumble of thunder in the distance
691 — Walking through the forest
695 — Wonderment at the brightness of a full moon
715 — The scent of freshly cut grass
726 — The smell of bread baking
739 — The smell of Gardenias in May.
742 — The smell of Jasmine
758 — The sound of windchimes in the morning
759 — Seeing a bright yellow American goldfinch feasting on a bright yellow sunflower
761 — Deciding you’re not too old to climb trees
767 — The way my dog always has to be touching me
771 — Fire
823 — Skinny dipping
992 — Knowing to jangle keys at the zoo if you want the otters to come out
993 — Having dessert as a main course
994 — Hairdressers who listen to what you want
995 — Bubble wrap
996 — Really good oranges
997 — Cycling downhill
998 — Aromatic duck pancakes with hoisin sauce
999 — Sunlight
1006 — Surprises
1007 — The fact that sometimes there is a perfect song to match how you’re feeling
1008 — Dancing in private
1009 — Dancing in public, fearlessly
1010 — Reading something that articulates exactly how you feel but lacked the words to express yourself.
1011 — A chipmunk taking a nut from your hand
1012 — Bird flight.
1013 — Cosplaying
1014 — A cloud that looks like a god shooting the world a bird
1015 — Blatantly breaking an unjust or unnecessary law
1016 — Crows bringing you gifts
1026 — A feeling of cool morning air hitting your face as the sun shines down on your sleepy face
1027 — breaking off a piece of bread and handing it to someone
1028 — Dancing under a waterfall
1035 — A friend’s smile
1036 — Camping Festivals
1037 — Dancing when no one is watching
1042 — A perfectly baked baguette
1043 — A shared meal
1044 — A wandering motorcycle ride on a cool day.
1045 — Cigarettes and coffee
1046 — Day naps
1063 — Beers with friends
1072 — Bacon
1074 — Clear nights full of stars
1084 — Becoming ‘high’ on a cannabis gumdrop and raving about the liberating influence of the new crop of fall fashions
1088 — Discovering your tribe
1091 — Decaf Coffee at 9PM
1092 — Conversation
1093 — Exchanging glances with a stranger and having the sudden realization that elsewhere in the multiverse, you were lovers.
1099 — Hugging a friend
1100 — Learning something you thought was true was in fact, false… then changing your mind about it.
1101 — Exploring places off the beaten path
1102 — I love a bonfire on a chilly autumn night.
1103 — Learning to waltz
1104 — Getting ready with my girl friends
1206 — Forehead kisses
1215 — Jangling keys
1222 — Long hot showers
1223 — Happening upon the Olympic Torch being lit and carried by a runner!
1231 — Hearing ocean waves
1235 — Hearing your name called by someone you love
1240 — Helping an elderly person to walk or sit
1262 — Holding hands with your favorite person
1278 — Huddling together for warmth when it’s cold
1282 — Just enough gummies
1285 — Knowing I have yet to meet everyone that I will get to love in this lifetime
1292 — Laughing with a friend
1296 — lying on the top of stone mountain at sunrise
1314 — Midnight conversations
1358 — Peonies
1413 — Petrichor: the smell after it rains
1425 — Realizing that just because something is law, doesn’t mean it’s just, right, or moral.
1427 — Not worrying about how much money you’re spending on vacation because all international currency looks like Monopoly money
1477 — Puppy full-body wags
1654 — Christopher Walken’s voice
1655 — Christopher Walken’s hair
1857 — Planning a declaration of love
2000 — Coffee
2001 — Films that are better than the books they’re adapted from
16888 — Seeing someone in the grocery store whom you haven’t seen in a while, and YOU REMEMBER THEIR NAME!
123321 — Palindromes
123322 — Rescuing baby sea turtles stuck in the bottom of their underground nest and releasing them into the ocean!
123456 — Seeing spider eyes glitter in a flashlight beam… And then telling whomever I’m with that it’s not dew.
124825 — Riding in a convertible on a crisp autumn day
127372 — Seeing your best friend find love
130355 — Sticky notes
130406 — Sunrises
135869 — The chuckle of your best friend
145296 — Roadside fruit stands
145300 — sunset walks
153051 — Seeing your friend smile
154217 — Automatic sprinklers
154514 — The Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett
155286 — Rosemary oil in a spray bottle
155354 — Sharing an inside joke with your friends
155741 — The final movement of Beethoven’s 9th or of Mahler’s 2nd
160700 — Seeing something startling just out of your line of sight and very quickly stepping or leaping on to a larger object to get a better view
162647 — Singing along with your favorite opera, even if you don’t know the words or even all the notes
188643 — Standing under a waterfall
191609 — Staying up all night saturday, and experincing the peace of a sunday morning… the sun coming up, a walk, breakfast, and watching the world wake up.
193716 — The first warm day of the year, where you roll your windows down and blast the radio.
193799 — The golden moment when you are just drunk enough that the reason for every thing is suddenly crystal clear to you and before that moment when walking becomes…challenging.
201455 — The smell of basil
201771 — The smell of books
212210 — The soft downy spot at the back of a woman’s neck
216902 — The way a robin greets you, without fear
221502 — Walking a labyrinth
221756 — Watching a camp fire
225597 — Watching a friend’s face lit by the fire in the fire pit
235354 — Waves crashing on a white sand beach
239703 — When a solution to a problem that you’ve had a hard time solving just appears in your head as if from nowhere
249556 — When an elderly woman laughs and grips your forearm tightly
252993 — Working on and performing Shakespeare
253263 — The feeling of calm which follows the realization that, although you may be in a regrettable situation, there’s nothing you can do about it
277369 — Watching fireflies on a summer evening
525924 — Track 7 on every record
777777 — The prospect of dressing up as a Mexican wrestler
825540 — A home grown tomato
826978 — [blank]
826979 — The fact that Beyoncé is Gustav Mahler’s eighth cousin, four times removed
826980 — My dog
827514 — A child’s laughter
828275 — Caring doctors who truly care and help others
829912 — kitten kisses
832088 — Seeing a friend post their new painting on Facebook
832573 — The smell of fresh mountain air when you get away from the city.
834908 — A cold beer on a hot day, while sitting in the shade
834910 — My Family
836615 — Clean sheets on the bed
838143 — Kitten toe beans
838580 — Sequins are sigma
840828 — The way ‘Sinfonia to Cantata No. 29’ just blasts off as the first track to ‘Switched-On Back’ and never lets up, soaring into the stratosphere and taking you along with it.
841264 — A fire pit with friends under a full moon
842407 — Cleaning off your desk
842415 — Friends
845527 — Knowing you raised successful, responsible, caring, and happy children
846678 — Sharing a knowing look with your spouse when a friend does that thing they always do, and not laughing
847712 — The way my dog looks at me when I get home.
854900 — Cocktail glassware
854901 — The sound of a flowing river
858621 — Korean fantasy/romance TV series
858622 — Karma
859034 — Sheets fresh out of the dryer
859359 — The way the air feels lighter on my skin in San Jose, CA than it does in Southern Illinois.
859943 — A La-Z-Boy recliner
861371 — Decorating turkey-shaped sugar cookies with the kids on Thanksgiving
865278 — Learning something new
866302 — Singing in the shower
866303 — Coffee over the fire on a crisp fall morning
866304 — falling asleep in a hammock with the stars above overhead on a warm summer night
866305 — lunch with a view
866306 — the wonderbra
867903 — Walking through the door and your dogs go crazy with excitement that you are finally home.
871306 — A long walk, in a forest, or on a mountain, with a good dog
871715 — Finding a bargain treasure at a yard sale is brilliant!
871805 — Making people laugh on social media
872106 — Sitting by the rim of Grand Canyon and watching the Canyon as the light changes
872454 — Watching a child take their first steps
872495 — A perfect cocktail
876452 — Finding an old issue of ‘Highlights for Children’ from your childhood
878407 — Marveling at sunlight through leaves
879118 — Sitting in a hot tub without the jets running, listening to the wind in the trees and listening to the birds
883173 — Watching all the Oscar-nominated movies before the awards
885196 — A pet snuggling up with you because they know you’re unhappy
893098 — Finding that perfect missing piece of a set
893098 — video game emulators
893099 — a terrycloth robe
893100 — fainting goats
893101 — nursing a bird with a broken wing back to health
893102 — Hammer horror films
893103 — training montages
893662 — Musicals
894180 — Slow-blinking back to a cat
896023 — Watching someone fail, and try again, and succeed
896221 — Accomplishing the thing you wanted to do
896744 — Getting a nose-kiss from your kitty
902451 — My husband calls me every day at lunch just to say he loves me…for 25 years
906044 — Snuggling with your doggo
906380 — Watching the Olympics
908152 — Actually reading a book from your to-read pile rather than buying a new one
909476 — Getting the USB plug right the first time without looking
909540 — Old Man Dale with glitter makeup
909636 — Sunset at Grand Canyon
910776 — Watching your children laugh and play
912717 — Adding another perfect to your collection
912796 — Gifts for no reason
916766 — Old videos of your child when they were little
920611 — Sunset on the beach at Hilton Head
922703 — Wedding dress shopping with my daughter
922938 — Harrison Ford (the NTC version)
922939 — Encountering something that use to devastate you emotionally but finding that it doesn’t hurt too bad now.
922941 — Getting the best seat at Seats & Sweets with the best gal
922956 — Hitting the perfect spot in your ear with a Q-tip after a shower
922963 — Finding ‘the one’ after 40 years
922964 — getting accepted to a college masters program
922969 — pictures of your relatives when they were young
922978 — candid Polaroid pictures of the people you love
922984 — Snuggling with your dog
922987 — world-famous K-pop boy group Stray Kids
923009 — RETIRING after 53 years of work!!
923025 — Seeing someone you love be amazing
923029 — Dale’s Utilikilt
923031 — feeling someone’s art
923035 — being able to laugh about absolutely nothing
923050 — Introducing ‘Bluey’ to your adult friends who don’t have children & hearing them laugh
923055 — weighted blankets
923059 — My brother letting me borrow a horror book
923076 — snuggling my dog during a thunderstorm
923079 — Having a friend to sit with you through the hard times
923093 — a really good overture for a musical
923094 — creating art
923297 — Afternoon naps
925721 — Glitter…all the glitter
926850 — One of your favorite songs that you forgot about suddenly playing on the radio
927404 — Supporting local artists by buying their art
927512 — When my child asked if we lived at the end of the world because the road in front of our house stopped at a wooded area.
929566 — An anole lizard sunning itself on the top of your fence
930036 — Having an app on your phone that will hoot like an owl every night when it’s sunset
932699 — Peeling a sticker off in one piece
933124 — Taking a nap in a hammock
934111 — When you come home and your dog goes bonkers because they missed you so much and they are so happy to see you that they express that joy fully with their entire being.
934718 — An infant’s toes
935215 — Having an idea for a Large Art Burn and watching it come to life and providing its audience with a therapeutic experience as it burns
935469 — Planting an herb garden
937053 — Taking a sip of lobster bisque at yet another restaurant and realizing with satisfaction that once again yours is better.
937425 — When your Christmas cactus blooms multiple times throughout the year
938284 — Baby laughter
940197 — Having enough money to help out a friend in need
941898 — Playing Cards Against Humanity with equally evil-minded friends
944625 — The Aegean Sea
946205 — Backstreet Arts: Art Saves Lives!
948063 — Having every kitchen and bar utensil that it is possible to have
953095 — Pooping in your own toilet after a Burn
953686 — The anticipation of going on a fabulous trip somewhere
953969 — Being brave enough to be my whole self unapologetically.
955743 — Having good neighbors
955959 — Pretending you have your own YouTube cooking channel as you prepare supper every night
957216 — The belly laugh of a baby
957344 — Being chosen by a cat to be their human.
963927 — Puppy snuggles!
964264 — Having just enough of every ingredient in a recipe to be able to make it without a trip to the store.
964990 — The feel of a baby’s hand wrapped around your finger
966739 — Being featured on the front page of your local newspaper for a good thing you did
968152 — Hearing a song you’d forgotten
968221 — Realizing that a pretty high percentage of your social circle are published authors.
972629 — The first sip of hot coffee in the morning
973650 — Being there to witness the birth of my grandchild
974764 — Inventing a new cocktail, and it’s amazing!
974920 — A cold day with the sun out
974927 — cherishment
975199 — Rock climbing.
975502 — singing my lungs out in the car
975546 — The people that matter most in my life.
976386 — The fact I’m healthy
976395 — After years of competition dance I started choreographing for people now!
976584 — My faith
976704 — The absolute happiness and contentment one feels when doing something nice for someone!
976888 — A well hydrated patient with prominent veins
977067 — my sister
977459 — Listening to a song for the first time.
978552 — Disco! (you had to be there)
978647 — My puppy, my books, my music, my movies
978867 — Fall flavors and scents being in season
979141 — Chocolate cake
979209 — Letting your hair grow during the pandemic for four years, then cutting it for the Great Cut to donate it to children with hair loss
979541 — a 20-second hug
979641 — the Polish national anthem
980336 — Reading ‘The Monster at the End of the Book’ to your child and doing Grover’s voice
980469 — Realizing the the love of Winnie The Pooh is timeless
982588 — The first time you flip the switch and it actually (by George!) works
983277 — Kamala Harris!
984117 — Remembering a funny moment with a coworker
984960 — The Kiffness’s cat song videos
984975 — The feeling of being home after a long day.
984976 — Polaroid pictures of my favorite people.
986867 — Big burly bald guys who play ‘girl’ stuff with their little daughters.
986909 — Kathleen Hanna’s voice: the way it can be playful one second and then melt-your-face-off with its fury in the next.
987689 — Remembering you stashed peanut butter crackers in your glove compartment as you get in your car after a meeting that ran through lunch
988283 — The moment when some friends who are playing a mini-concert at your camp play an encore — and it’s a piece you wrote!
988791 — Blue Ridge GA
991163 — Kissing the top of a baby’s head
991653 — Retirement
991715 — The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe
991716 — Watching bread rise
991717 — having a best friend
991718 — someone playing with your hair until you fall asleep
991719 — watching my daughter tell my other daughter, ‘you’re a wizard and I’m a robot’
991720 — my dog’s ‘frito’ feet smell
991721 — being alone in the forest, closing your eyes, and listening
991722 — the sound of trees blowing in the wind
991723 — the aroma of clove cigarettes
992233 — My dream of owning a red refrigerator
992272 — bringing food to sick or grieving families
998079 — Rocking out to music while cooking supper
998407 — Candles lighting your back yard
999997 — The alphabet
999998 — Inappropriate songs played at emotional moments
999999 — Completing a task.