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Posts from the ‘joy’ Category

Apr 30

Joy Seeker

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”― Robert Frost

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb. (Don’t Hesitate)”― Mary Oliver, Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

The other shoe to drop.
Worst case scenario.
What next?
Peeking around the corner.
Hesitation awaiting the now what.
Foreboding joy.
As if we could prepare.
We waste time lulled, dull, muted.

Make room, a house full of rooms, for the best-case scenario.
For possibilities, wonder, awe, delight, and surprise.
Find joy on the path today, even if it’s not one you choose.
Make room for good.
We find what we seek, the lens we look through.
Beauty, flowers, laughter, music, poetry, nature, human connection.
Pathways, bridges, thresholds to joy.
Do not hesitate.
Plentiful joy woven in an ordinary day.

“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.”
― Mary Oliver

Apr 22

Clear Joy

“For we live in the kingdom of joy.
Do not give your heart to anything else
But to the love of those who are clear joy,
Do not stray into the neighborhood of despair.” – Rumi

“Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.”― Rumi

In the crack and crevices.
Thin spaces.
Wide places.
At your feet.
In between.
Beginnings, ends.
Fits and starts.
Amidst the ordinary.
Slivers and whole.
Beauty, light, color, brilliance.
Pause to anchor, root, prepare for flight.
Clear joy.

“Be like the sun for grace and mercy. Be like the night to cover others’ faults. Be like running water for generosity. Be like death for rage and anger. Be like the Earth for modesty. Appear as you are. Be as you appear.”― Rumi

Feb 22

Joy at Work, In Play

“A sense of humor is just common sense dancing.”― William James

Joy Chose You
by Donna Ashworth

“Joy does not arrive with a fanfare,
on a red carpet strewn with the flowers of a perfect life.
Joy sneaks in, as you pour a cup of coffee,
watching the sun hit your favourite tree, just right.
And you usher joy away,
because you are not ready for it.
Your house is not as it must be,
for such a distinguished guest.
But joy cares nothing for your messy home,
or your bank-balance,
or your waistline, you see.
Joy is supposed to slither through the cracks of your imperfect life,
that’s how joy works.
You cannot invite her, you can only be ready when she appears.
And hug her with meaning,
because in this very moment,
joy chose you.”

Notice joy this day.
In moments.
In small things.
In brief exchanges.
Amidst delays, detours, distractions, interruptions.
In a smile.
In play and laughter.
Doing its work in you and for you.
On the path you walk today.
Choose and be chosen.
Give and receive.
Open and embrace.
Awe and wonder for the ready heart.

“There is no happiness in having and getting, but only in giving . . . half the world is on the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness.”― Henry Drummond, Beautiful Thoughts

Feb 5

1 Comment

The Right Instructions

“When I rise up
let me rise up joyful
like a bird.
When I fall
let me fall without regret
like a leaf.”
― Wendell Berry, The Mad Farmer Poems

“You mustn’t wish for another life. You mustn’t want to be somebody else. What you must do is this:
“Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks.”
I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions.”― Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter

Praise.
Thanksgiving.
Communion.
Gratitude.
Laughter.
Kindness.
Connection.
Generosity.
Enthusiasm.
Delight.
Wonder.
Awe.
Our daily calling to joy.
Though we come up short, we should never ever stop trying.
Joy found not perfect conditions or circumstances but imperfect execution and effort in this place.
Transforming ordinary to extraordinary.

“Be joyful because it is humanly possible.”― Wendell Berry

Feb 1

The Wonderful Things

“What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this would be like without dogs?”― 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

Look, look again.
See what is before you.
Pull it to the forefront.
Main stage.
Sweep aside somedays, perfection, shoulds, weren’ts, messy, busy.
The ropes that hold you.
Wonderful things in reach, in view, in abundance.
Woven in the ordinary, daily, presence.
Gratitude bears joy, delight and contentment.
Smiles. Laughter. Light.
Let them in.
Wonderful things off leash.

“Come with me into the woods where spring is
advancing, as it does, no matter what,
not being singular or particular, but one
of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.”
― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems

“A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.” – William Hazlitt

Jan 17

Default Setting

“Grace is a power that comes in and transforms a moment into something better.”― Caroline Myss

“It is as if joy were the default setting of human emotion, not the furtive, fugitive glimpses it becomes in lives compromised by necessity, familiarity, “maturity,” suffering.”― Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer

When you push too many buttons on the car settings or your computer gets jammed up with malware, cookies, temporary files, wiping it clean is often the only option to fix it. Reimaging or resetting to factory settings. Going back to the default, before clutter, noise, junk slowed it down.

Wipe the slate clean each day. Shake off the dust of yesterday and carry forward what matters. Return to default settings of joy, optimism, awe and wonder. That’s where we started then wandered off course. Open and invite ease, expansion, growth, acceptance, exploration, discovery and continuous unfolding rather than perfection, completion, autopilot.

Clear your cache, hit the reset button, start fresh. Each day, imperfectly, with intention followed by action, stitching the fabric of life and self together with grace, enthusiasm, delight and love.

“We all come into the world unfinished, still stitching ourselves together.”― Maggie Smith, You Could Make This Place Beautiful

Jan 13

1 Comment

Fill the Well

“For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all of the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” – Isaiah 55:12

A well.
A reservoir.
An energy.
A magnet.
A compass.
Residing apart from circumstances, seasons.
Like a river always flowing whether we stand on the shore observing or dive into the current.
Within.
Fed, restored, sustained by beauty, gratitude, stillness, breathing, observing, awareness, letting go, taking hold, enthusiasm, laughter, frivolity, trusting, believing and faith.
Keep filling the well.
Cup overflowing.
Go out in joy.

“Just take this step…
The horizon will look after itself.”― Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

Dec 30

1 Comment

Playground of Joy

“Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” – Mother Teresa

“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” – Christopher McCandless

Blue skies.
Sun-filled day.
40s in December
To the playground.
Of course, to the swings.
Anchored and in flight.
Looking up in delight.
The utility and necessity of joy.
Carry it forward into each day.
Sun or clouds.
A vibrancy, enthusiasm, wonder at play.

“Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” – Karl Barth

Nov 26

2 Comments

Braced for Joy

“Come on now! Come on now
Hold your breath while you say
It’s a long way back and I’m begging you please
To come home now. Come home now
I heard you’ve been out looking for something to love
Close your eyes, little world, and brace yourself.” – Nick Cave

“Sometimes I need
only to stand
wherever I am
to be blessed.”― Mary Oliver, Evidence: Poems

How many times on holy ground and unaware?
How often going so fast the scenery a mere blur?
How often so close and still not seeing what is right there?
Too often I presume, I know.
May I be rooted in the sacred ground beneath my feet.
Blooming and bursting good fruit.
Braced for joy.
To live, to love, to right action, to gratitude and grace.

“Have I lived enough?
Have I loved enough?
Have I considered Right Action enough, have I
come to any conclusion?
Have I experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?
Have I endured loneliness with grace? – Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings

Nov 10

Give into Joy

“You can have the other words-chance, luck, coincidence, serendipity. I’ll take grace. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I’ll take it. ”― Mary Oliver

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb. (Don’t Hesitate)”― Mary Oliver, Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

Hope, joy, kindness, faith, generosity, empathy, laughter, grace, love.
May you be a prisoner of these.
Never to be released and set free.
Open to color, light, beauty.
Dazzled.
Unafraid.
Joy.
Much more than a crumb.
Plenty to go around.
Give in.

“Still, what I want in my life
is to be willing
to be dazzled—
to cast aside the weight of facts

and maybe even
to float a little
above this difficult world.”― Mary Oliver

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