Quotes of the day:
“I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don’t want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift.” ― Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life
“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” ― Marianne Williamson
“Scatter joy!”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Right now, this minute, all kinds of things are happening in the world—wars, tragic violence, climate change, sickness, sorrow, and joy, compassion, and kindness. That’s right, along with all of the challenging things, you can always find joy, kindness and compassion. You may need to look harder to see the joy, but it’s there.
Even in the midst of great sorrow and loss, there is the possibility of experiencing joy. I see it all the time.
It feels like grace
A friend of mine is battling cancer and still she sends loving kindness wishes to all her friends. A former co-worker’s wife is in hospice and as I watch this friend’s journey through love and loss, his wide open heart and love is so inspiring to me and many others.
Practicing gratitude brings me joy
Gratitude has almost always been a gateway to joy for me. When I forget to practice gratitude, I lose my sense of joy and wonder. But as soon as I find just one thing to be grateful for, I’m back on the path to experiencing joy.
Seeing beauty fills me with joy
Even when I don’t have my camera with me, I notice beauty all around me in the mundane and ordinary aspects of life—the way the light reflects off an object, the color of the sky, wispy clouds, frost on a leaf. This ordinary beauty fills me with joy.
Kids help me to reconnect with joy and laughter
Just spending an hour or two with kids is enough to bring me back to the present moment state that they often live in. Emotions arise, are expressed, and if allowed full expression, fade away in a very short time.
Kids can create play out of any activity. Last weekend during my Kid’s Beginners Mind Photography class, we went outside to make some action shots. A goal of photographing someone running quickly morphed into a game of “Sniper Camera” invented on the fly. The kids tried to hide somewhere and capture photographs of others moving while not being photographed themselves.
Funny guys! Living an improv life.
Dancing, music, and moving bring me joy
I am a part of a friendship group that meets twice a month. We practice the forms of Interplay, that involve walking, stopping, running, dancing, and more. Even when I don’t feel like going I’m always glad afterwards that I went and as soon as we start moving and dancing joy dances in too.
Doing what I love brings me joy
Every time I pick up my camera I enter a stream of joy. It is my magic elixir, joy scatterer, peace bringer.
Scatter a little joy in your life
What brings you joy? Find time to do what you love now, not tomorrow. Life is short and we all need a scattering of joy.
Find a moment to notice something you’re grateful for or notice the beauty and wonder of life. Connect with some kids. Move a little, dance a little, sing a little. Create something. Feel the joy and scatter it with abandon!
0 Comments