joy

Intentions-Inspirations-Resolutions

round button colored green with three sentences: 1. Ankose 2. Everything is connected 3. Tout est relie
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For readers who have been here for awhile, I rarely if ever declare or think about New Year’s Resolutions. That changes this year. After the election, I’ve been inundated with lies and misinformation, not to mention the focus on stupidity rather than real news, and I am damn sick of it. That led me to think about my life and my writing.

I may have already written about my new job, but I started working in October, and it is the kind of place that feeds my soul. I have never had a job like this before, and every day is a joy to be there, and that allows that joy to follow me home. It’s been a good couple of months.

Obviously, I’m disappointed (understatement) about the election. I hope we can get through the next two years, and use the midterm elections to return to sanity. My first Election Connection of the new year will appear in this space next Tuesday.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am really proud of my series writing, and those will continue. In addition to Election Connection, there will be more Mental Health Monday, monthly Inspired and Friday Food posts, and I’m hoping for a return to Penny Prompts – the writing prompts based on Louise Penny’s writing and her Armand Gamache mystery series.

Those are both my intentions and my inspirations and I hope to find more throughout the year. You will find more of my new year’s thoughts below the cut.

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Instagram Story

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(c)2024

As I teased yesterday on Instagram, I am still wearing my Harris/Walz bracelets. No, I am not delusional. I know that the election is over, and I know that Harris/Walz did not win. They are not going to the White House. That is something that I am processing.

However, I am still wearing them for the next few weeks at least. I honestly don’t know how long I’ll keep them on. I imagine one day I will wake up, and not reach for them, pulling them loose and sliding them onto my wrist. It won’t be today or tomorrow, or the next day.

Time will tell as it moves forward and heals.

So, why do I keep wearing them?

I want a reminder of not only what could have been, but what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and their families brought to us; what they gave us:

Hope and Joy.

Tim talked about hope in every one of his speeches. His daughter is named Hope. Everything he’s done for his family, his students, and his state has been in a hopeful, happy way.

Kamala has been full of joy since I’ve seen her debut on the political stage. She is a joyful warrior. When I hear her laugh, I can’t help but smile. When she is with citizens, when she is cooking, when she is talking about this country and our potential, she is full of joy.

Those bracelets remind me of what good can come, what could have been, but also what can be as we remember these two beautiful souls and what they gave us for a few short weeks. I also know they will continue to bring Hope and Joy to whatever they do, and I am happy to be part of their team.

‘Tis the Season

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I have not been to Starbucks in quite some time. Today is Red Cup Day, so I planned a quick in-and-out/grab-and-go, get my drink, get my cup, and go home to do some work. On the way out the door I grabbed my pouch and keyboard, just in case.

I walked in, and this place is hopping. Seven baristas behind the counter, all moving, creating the dance that has everyone doing their parts, seeing the rhythm that is so natural to them, and yet in that small space, no one is tripping over any of the others, smoothly weaving in and out, and the one barista who seems to be tracking everyone’s drinks, knows all of our names, our orders, who’s waiting for what, greeting, smiling, conversating.

It’s a joy to be here.

I chose my drink, which is a feat in itself since I don’t like coffee, and for the red cup you’re limited on what you can order – they want to show off their seasonal treats and have you try those. I finally settled on the caramel brulee latte, but no coffee; comes with whipped cream and a caramel-ish drizzle. There is a tray of free samples – cranberry bliss bar, which I haven’t had yet this year.

I got my breakfast wrap, and was offered a second sample. I was going to decline, but the customers all have, and this is my favorite treat, so why not.

I settle in, and decide to share with you the wonder of the holidays at Starbucks, especially this one that is my local, well-run, friendly, and makes me remember what joy in the everyday is.

Yes, it’s children laughing and choirs singing. It’s songbirds and sunrises, it’s well-worn jeans and waking up before the alarm, but it’s also the simplicity of the coffee shop where they learn your name, and make your morning that much lighter and brighter, and add just a little bit of joy to the regular.

Red Cup and Hot Drink on a Cold Day. (c)2023
Cranberry Bliss Bar – Free Samples. (c)2023
Settling in for an hour’s work. (c)2023

Mental Health Monday – Take a Moment…And Lift

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For the early part of Mother’s Day weekend I went on an overnight retreat. It’s billed as a Girls Night Out/Day of Reflection and it was a wonderful event. They hold this every year and this was the first time I went. The theme is usually dictated by the presenter and so last week was titled Called to Wonder and Joy and the next day’s reflection continued that theme and included active listening and storytelling.

In the discussion and micro-journaling, we answered the question, “What calls you with wonder and joy? What creates wondrous and joyful moments in your life?“

In this context, it’s not necessarily that joy equals happy. Joy is a much broader concept. It is only recently that I find that deep profundity that is rooted in joy. For me it was the references to joy in scripture and spiritual learning and practice. The joy that comes to me during mass or meditation. It’s not the happiness of a fun time with friends or a vacation; it is something deeper that I’ve only recognized more recently.

In the things that you like, you will find others that like similar things or extraordinarily different things, but you will discover that you are not alone. You will find things that lift you up. You will remember things that you did that might have been scary, but you got through it. You might even do them again. What are the things that lift you up?

I give all of this to you as a way of introducing a mental health exercise and to remind of the broad nature of words that we take for granted. We may hear the word “joy” and think, ‘oh, that isn’t me – I am not that kind of person,’ but if you broadened your concept you may find, as I gradually did that I can be joyful in ways and I can find joy in things, both physical and spiritual.

So, I ask you: Where do you find Wonder and Joy?

I will share ten of the moments of wonder and/or joy, some I discovered on the retreat and others that have come to me as I write.

What I would like you to do today is to write your own down. Begin with five and go for as many as you’d like. It doesn’t need a formal journal or a notebook. Just grab a sheet of paper or the back of an envelope and a pen.

Nothing should stand in your way.

When you discover and remind yourself of the things you find wondrous and joyful, you can refer back to this list on your down days, take a deep breath, and keep going.

Here are mine (currently):

the lilacs in my backyard

labyrinths

Wales

sitting quietly with a cup of tea

rainbow shoelaces

I get a deep well of peace (but also joy) thinking on the devotion to Mary, Untier of Knots

waterfalls

planning a trip

sitting in my front yard, eyes closed, feeling the cool air, and just being

the smell of freshly cut grass

early morning sunshine when the birds are noisy

Joy

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It’s a little bit funny that joy is the first prompt of this season’s memoir writing free-write. I am in  the middle of reading both James Martin’s book, Between Heaven & Mirth and Pope Francis’ most recent exhortation, The Joy of Love. I swear if he uses the word conjugal one more time, I will throw my Kindle from a window.

Joy is one of those words that I look at as somewhat old-fashioned. I can be happy, fun, excited, well, good, but joy sounds like it means harp-playing angels and arrow-twanging cupids.

There are also certain words that I hear in certain voices and joy is one of them. Whenever I hear the word joy in my head, it is in Mira Furlan’s voice. She is a Czech actress who played the Minbari ambassador in the Babylon 5 television series. There’s nothing particularly special about the way she says it, but it’s been the way I hear that word since her narration of the opening. Without knowing it, she layers it with context, emotion, and meaning. My priest always welcomes new people with “great joy” and the first time he said it I flashed to the sound of Mira’s voice from twenty-five or so years ago.

Despite my current readings, I am neither joyful nor mirthful. I’m subdued, and joy is not subdued. I think joy happens in retrospect; as a memory of something too wonderful for mere words.

Joy is substance, joy is flavor, joy is the smell of rain, and the tweet of the 5am birdies. It’s the glow of the moon on my face or my hand when I reach towards the window in the night. Joy is your sleeping child or running unexpectedly into a friend during errands. Joy is my lilac tree in the yard and the smell of hyacinth.

Where do you find your joy?

Prompt – Joy

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This was supposed to be posted on Friday, but with Prince’s unexpected death and the beginning of Passover, I delayed it until this morning. Future prompts will appear on Fridays.

Now that my writing class has started up again, I’m going to share our prompts with you and hopefully encourage you to do your own free writes. Remember that free writes are ten to fifteen minutes of stream of consciousness writing related to the prompt. I sometimes call it spewing. We all have our words for things.

The class is six weeks, but with homework this prompt exercise should go on for about twelve weeks.

Share your writings by linking them in the comments.

Our theme for these next few weeks is Emotions.

Today’s prompt begins with Joy.

Have fun!

A Barrel of Joy

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I had a ten minute conversation on where I wanted to eat lunch, most of that with myself.   I finally decided on Cracker Barrel. Good food, reasonable prices, good atmosphere for writing. I have my rituals for pretty much every place I go. Cracker Barrel is a glance around the store and a trip to the bathroom before I get settled in my seat with whatever I’ve brought to do. Today it was my kindle and keyboard.

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