Category Archives: Joy

Weekly Photo Challenge: Selfie? It Is Like Asking a Fourteen Year Old to Use Carbon Paper 6

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For those who have never heard of a selfie, watch the 100-Year-Old BFFs on Steve Harvey as one of the friends explains it to the other, “You don’t and I don’t, but they do.” They are a joy and I really love the answers they give to questions about modern pop culture.

Cheri Lucas Rowlands is obviously younger than me because this week for the WordPress photo challenge, she is asking us to share a selfie. I am a Baby Boomer, so asking me to share a selfie is really like asking a fourteen year old to write a theme paper in cursive, making three carbon copies. Some of them might know what I am talking about and even how to do it, but they would not want to do it.

Luckily, I do know what a selfie is since I have teenagers, but honestly sharing a selfie just is not me, but I’m up to the challenge.

Caring for my garden.
Fun with my garden ball.
Fun with gazing ball.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Window (to My Soul) 2

Gratitude, Joy, photography • Tags: , , , ,

The dark clouds are behind us.
Garden view through garden window.
Taken through Old Town Trolley window.
Windows reflect natures beauty.
My smiling Golden in the window.

In 2013, I changed both my front and backyard to add a more joyful look and to add flowers to attract beneficial insects for my herb and vegetable garden. This had the added benefit of changing my view. I have continued to focus on gratitude including being grateful that my son attends a school that I love.

My magnet

My magnet

There is an old saying, “Let go or be dragged.” It now is on my freezer door to remind me that there are times when we really do have to let go. It is what my daughter wisely advised me to do when the new head of her former school adamantly refused to give her a requested apology for their failures.

There are some institutions and some people who have to learn to change in their own time, and we cannot force that change. That does not mean we should stop trying to educate. I am not sorry that I wrote my novel or that I tried to educate others, but there are times when we need to change focus for our own sanity. Walking away has helped my family and me return to our joyful place, and in my heart I know creating more joy for those around us is what life is all about.

This post is inspired by this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Window.

Find Your Joy for Inner Peace 5

Bloggers For Peace, Joy, Peace Challenge • Tags: , , ,

FindingJoyAppreciating the simple things in nature can bring joy if you open your heart and mind. It can help heal your soul so you can share your joy with others too. Lookup on a cloudy day and you just might see a rainbow. Take a deep breath after the rain clears the air. Enjoy the silence after the snow falls. Listen to the birds chirping early in the morning. I know if you try you can find something that will bring you joy.

Like many others I loved Pollyanna when I was younger. I especially loved how she focused on the “glad texts” of the Bible: “Shout for joy” or “Be glad in the Lord.”

Pollyanna told the Reverend, “And do you know, my father said that if God took the trouble to tell us eight hundred times to be glad and rejoice, He must have wanted us to do it.”

Yet, as an adult, I too have been guilty of forgetting the “glad texts.” Maybe, it is time to look them up again.

That is why my focus for this month’s peace challenge is joy.

I know you can find someone in your life or a character to model as you begin your own search for joy. Maybe you prefer Maria from The Sound of Music:

(Wake Me Up Now) Weekly Photo Challenge: Beginning 4

Gratitude, Joy, Life Lessons • Tags: , , , ,

There is a popular song, “Wake Me Up.”

A New Day Begins.

A New Day Begins.

This is your new day, the beginning. Don’t wait until it’s all over to wake up whether you are beginning a new chapter in your life, in the life of your child, in the life of your pet, or in your career. While there are a few things I would correct if I could go back in time, the reality is every single mistake I made taught me something. I would never be as wise without those lessons. So, don’t wait until you are wiser and older to wake up.

Parents of crying babies might wish for this phase to end. Stop and breathe instead and be grateful for those sleepless nights. Every moment you spend with your child is precious. The day will come quickly when your child is too old to carry and comfort when they cry, but I promise every sleepless night will help them learn to trust you and continue to come to you for advice.

At the beginning of life.

At the beginning of life.

Puppies may chew your favorite shoes or wet your favorite rug, but they are still so cute and so much fun to play with. The day will come when your dog no longer has the energy to play and yes, they might once again wet you favorite rug, but if you took the time for them when they were puppies, they will trust you with their lives and they will remain fateful to you until the end.

You might be nervous about that first day on the job, but I urge you to hang on to the joy. The joy will help you to adjust to changes that are sure to come in any career you choose.

Beginnings don’t end when we are older and wiser either. Life is all about change and every stage of life teaches us something new. Embrace the lessons and you will find joy.