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Posts from the ‘joy’ Category

Aug 28

Stubborn Gladness

“We are all meant to be mothers of God…for God is always needing to be born.”― Meister Eckhart

“We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,
but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have
the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless
furnace of this world.”― Jack Gilbert, Refusing Heaven

Intuition, intention, trust
Seed, bud, bloom
Corners and crevices of delight
Ordinary and sameness transformed by presence and attention
To partake in the richness of this day
Free from analysis, measurement, comparison.
Living simply with gladness, grace, gratitude
Creation and re-creation.

“We must unlearn the constellations to see the stars.”― Jack Gilbert, The Great Fires

Aug 13

Masters of Joy

“You may not agree, you may not care, but if you are holding this book you should know that of all the sights I love in this world — and there are plenty — very near the top of the list is this one: dogs without leashes.”― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems

“Or maybe it’s about the wonderful things that may happen if you break the ropes that are holding you.”― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs

Delight complete, begin again
In play
Rapt presence
Simple pleasures
Uncomplicated, undeterred, unwavering
Masters of joy
Teachers of fun and frolic
May I be a good student.

“We meet wonderful people, but lose them
in our busyness.
We’re, as the saying goes, all over the place.
Steadfastness, it seems,
is more about dogs than about us.
One of the reasons we love them so much.”
― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems

Jun 20

Joy Ethic

“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

“I have drunken deep of joy,
And I will taste no other wine tonight.”
― Percy Bysshe Shelley

Work ethic.
Got it.
Yet only a sliver of life.
Joy.
Love.
Enthusiasm.
Kindness.
Faith.
Resilience.
Grit.
Generosity.
Delight.
Fidelity.
Laughter.
Awe.
Wonder.
Reverence.
Play.
Do not bypass, forego, dismiss.
The fabric of a good life.
Woven together daily.

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”― Nicolas Chamfort

May 12

Unhurried, Joy Resides

“His decision to live small made him larger than life.”― Allen Levi, Theo of Golden

“Joy is unhurried.”― Cleo Wade, Remember Love: Words for Tender Times

Space and margin
Deep breath, in and out, repeat
Rest to restoration
Slow to delight
In moments, density
Open the gifts scattered generously through this day
Joy, unhurried, overflowing, abundant
Still small voice, listen
Small things, large life.

“The only way we can make the most of our lives is to make the most of our moments. Today, wherever you are, decide to stay. We can know the gifts that lie in the present only if we stay in it long enough to receive them.”― Cleo Wade, Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life

Apr 16

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Little Joys, Big Life Woven

“I would simply like to reclaim an old and, alas, quite unfashionable private formula: Moderate enjoyment is double enjoyment. And: Do not overlook the little joys!” – Hermann Hesse

“In a world pocked by cynicism and pummeled by devastating news, to find joy for oneself and spark it in others, to find hope for oneself and spark it in others, is nothing less than a countercultural act of courage and resistance. This is not a matter of denying reality — it is a matter of discovering a parallel reality where joy and hope are equally valid ways of being. To live there is to live enchanted with the underlying wonder of reality, beneath the frightful stories we tell ourselves and are told about it.” – Maria Popova

Whisper of a breeze
Warmth of sun
Delight of flowers
Play of children
River flow
Trees in praise
Blue sky brilliance
Movement of song, dance
Embrace of presence spilling into amazement
In the knitting of small joys, big life woven
For the sense and senses to partake.

“[There are] many other small joys, perhaps the especially delightful one of smelling a flower or a piece of fruit, of listening to one’s own or others’ voices, of hearkening to the prattle of children. And a tune being hummed or whistled in the distance, and a thousand other tiny things from which one can weave a bright necklace of little pleasures for one’s life.” – Hermann Hesse

Apr 13

Joy Seeking and Finding

“Today, seek out one small moment of joy. Just one. Maybe it’s a raindrop on your window, a flower blooming against all odds, an unexpected smile, a hot mug warming your hands.” – Diane Shiffer

“Play is the complete absorption in something that doesn’t matter to the external world, but which matters completely to you. It’s an immersion in your own interests that becomes a feeling in itself, a potent emotion. Play is a disappearance into a space of our choosing, invisible to those outside the game. It is the pursuit of pure flow, a sandbox mind in which we can test new thoughts, new selves. It’s a form of symbolic living, a way to transpose one reality onto another and mine it for meaning. Play is a form of enchantment.”― Katherine May, Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age

One small moment of joy
Perhaps two too
Play, laughter, exploration
Full presence in this day
In the details
A tea bag steeping, full flavor
Mining for meaning
In slivers and slices
Windows open
Fresh air, soft breeze
Enchantment, grace, light
Paint the blank canvas of this day
One slow stroke at a time.

“I don’t want to sit like a brooding hen on the nest of my past achievements. I want to keep on going deep into the uncertain act of making, to see the unknown world stretch out before me and to devote myself to exploring it.”― Katherine May, Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age

Apr 12

Small Joys Stacking

“It is a great thing to know how to make use of the present moment.”― Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul

“Act in such a way that all those who come in contact with you will go away joyful. Sow happiness about you because you have received much from God; give, then, generously to others. They should take leave of you with their hearts filled with joy, even if they have no more than touched the hem of your garment.”― Maria Faustina Kowalska

We forego small joys in search of big demands and conditions.
Anchoring on others changing, the world changing, us remaining the same.
“Someday when” thinking.
Yield to this day alone.
All that is present and available.
Filled and flowing.
Seek moments of joy, delight through rapt attention.
Capture and give them away.
Compound interest of love in action.
Scatter seeds, sow happiness, cast light.

“The past does not belong to me; the future is not mine; with all my soul I try to make use of the present moment.”― Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul

Apr 11

Fluidity of Being

“So let the world go, but hold fast to joy.”― May Sarton, Selected Poems

“There has been a yearning in me that I’m only just beginning to understand, a craving for transcendent experience, for depth, for meaning-making. It’s not just that the world needs to change – I need to change, too. I need to soften, to let go of the tight empirical boundaries, to find a greater fluidity in my being.”― Katherine May, Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age

Loosening of grip.
Fluidity of being.
Entering the flow.
Softening to unfolding.
Ordinary days
Extraordinary becoming.
Hold fast to joy.
Grace and peace.
Make way.

“Now I become myself. It’s taken time, many years and places.”― May Sarton

Apr 7

Nose to the Joy Trail

“Keep your nose to the joy trail.” – Buffy Sainte-Marie

“Joy bursts in our lives when we go about doing the good at hand and not trying to manipulate things and times to achieve joy.” —C.S. Lewis

Ordinary moments.
Good toy.
Play and delight.
Connection.
Grace and gratitude.
Small things stacking.
Encouragement.
Soft breeze.
Quiet moments.
Laughter.
Color and fragrance.
Music.
Glimmers, beams, slivers.
Attention and awe.
Nose to the joy trail.
Gather and scatter.
Seed, bloom, burst.

“It is a kind of transcendence; joy is a glimmer of love and forgiveness and wholeness that lifts us out of reality for a moment and gives us back to ourselves, anew.” Kate Bowler, Joyful Anyway

Mar 11

Try on Joy, You Look Good in that Color

“Blessed are we who are learning to hope.
And how to let go.
When to act.
And when to stop.
Holding together two irreconcilable truths:
that our lives are so valuable
precisely because we have much to fear
with much to love.” – Kate Bowler

“Blessed are we needing help waking up
to the music, the movement,
and the color of living,
who need help trying on joy instead.
The wonder of the daffodil,
the power of the tiniest seed,
cracked open and sprouting new life,
reaching, at its own pace, toward light.
Blooming.
Blessed are we who long to awake.
May we find the places where
beauty and love can reach us.
We’re ready for something new.” – Kate Bowler

Double blessings.
Grateful in real time and in memory.
To be exactly where we are and present on this day.
Whether mess or bliss.
Usually, a blender of both and mostly in between.
To let go of the illusion of someday when.
Entering now with vigor, delight, anticipation.
From muted, black and white to the brilliant color of living.
A day at a time.
Planting seeds, sprouting new life, spring in bloom.
Try on joy.
You look good in that color.

“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”― Eric Hoffer

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