FireSprite

Where do you find Joy in your life?

What moments remove you completely from problems & let your authentic Self shine through in happy wonder?

Are you getting enough of those moments?

I have not been getting enough straight Joy in my life but have been seeing signs of it returning since I've become determined to find it again.

Life is not intended to be all struggle, even in the darkest moments. The sun literally always rises again & no situation can sustain itself forever.



This weekend was the first time I've gotten my camera out in ages. It's something I truly love doing & all of the best pics around my house are the candid shots I've taken over the years. But when I've been sad & down I've abandoned this outlet - likely because it was hard to find joy through the lens & the last thing I wanted to do was document my misery.

DD14 is growing through such an important phase of life right now naturally & coming so much into her own as an independent member of this family - separate from us as her parents. Watching her clear land & hack away at small vines & trees with a machete in our backyard was inspiring & sent me scrambling for my camera to capture these moments of empowerment - how she's getting used to the weight of it, the arc of her swing, the force & angle she needs to attack each different obstacle.

I had such a GREAT time click-click-clicking away - and today I'm having a blast reviewing the pics to cull out the ones worth cropping/keeping. (I'll likely get about 8 out of the 100, lol) Bonus - on the way to work I saw the most incredible double rainbow & hello! I had my awesome camera right there to capture it. I need to keep making more & more time for this kind of creativity. Creativity is the one thing still too noticeably absent in my world & I am doing my best to correct that.

Sailorgirl57

Thanks so much for sharing this! I'm so happy you took the action that led to so much joy for you and, I'm guessing, for DD.

I find joy in nature and in art. Gardening brings these two things together. So does cooking. I love to sew my own clothes. I love to paint. Can tuna and smoke salmon.

I also find joy in travel. I love to explore new places.

Thanks for the motivation to get out there and get going!

Mango212

Hi Firesprite,

I've been thinking of this often this past week. I've had joyful moments, yet not much joy, if that makes any sense.

The week has been more difficult to find joy within myself. While I can pin-point at least 10 different valid/physical reasons why, those seem to be the vehicle of getting me where I want to be in the long-term. It's becoming clear as I come out the other side of it, yet again, that there's an ebb and flow to the many layers of healing that I'm attacking with full-forward-positive-momentum.

I'm allowing the quickest, best, most delicious in my life. So a big part of that is letting go of all old pains, false beliefs, trauma and attachments.

Encounter it.
Face it.
Deal with it.
Get through it.

Acknowledging these things helps it flow through quicker.

Mango212

Today I'm finding joy in holding my ground with both puppy and kid. In the actions of using kindness and strength, not letting myself be pushed, and not picking up any negative energy along the way.

I'm finding joy in fresh cut flowers, bees and butterflies, green grass, stepping out of my comfort zone.

Surfbee

Because everything feels so RAW right now, it seems I'm getting zero joy at the moment in anything! Lol

But if I had to pick the most basic things right now... I'd say:

- THIS WEBSITE ! haha
- thinking about going swimming / sauna
- thinking about doing yoga
- thinking about making healthy smoothies and healthy eating
- thinking about drawing and painting again
- lolling at myself and my thinking plans
- laughing where I can
- visualising a time in the future when I'll feel centred and whole again
- visualising a time when I'll be thriving and happy
- daily meditation
- Talking with caring friends
- Talking to my sister and my mum
- Talking with my therapist - first session today!
- Having a cup of camomile tea
- thinking about going on holiday soon
- Sorting out my new home
- Cuddles with my cat
- Journaling
- Reading 'Codependency No More'
- remembering that this too shall pass
- remembering my centre... and the ground under my feet will always keep me strong and stable

BoxinRotz

My joy is coming up here in roughly 6 weeks.

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FireSprite

I was wondering how much you were looking forward to the upcoming season with all that you have going on right now. I bet you CAN'T WAIT!

I've been shocked that I'm finding great joy in rehabbing my back yard. We've all played a part & helped in significant ways but this is all new for me - outside, really digging into Earth, working through the rain storms, digging out my old fire pit & digging into the new one, sweating buckets right back into the ground as I dig it up & create new pathways. Pruning & redirecting growth. Sifting through what is worth keeping & what needs to be torn up by the roots.

I've learned that I'm a downright bada$$ with a machete - I wouldn't mess with me - and it put me in mind of you & your bow.... the original SR Katniss Everdeen.


Yes, perfect sense. It's the precise thing I'm dealing with - moments of joy but not periods of joy. That's what I want - extended periods of joy to get lost in.

If we can have ongoing periods of negative aspects, we can have positive ones too. It's in my crosshairs, lol......

FireSprite

Your list is great but this caught my eye -

I've focused love on my cats so often. They are a constant source of love & acceptance for me so I learned to use them as a focal point for those things. Sometimes I hear myself say things like, "I just love you so much!" as Sir Fatness walks by or his brother does something ridiculous or my Siamese plays catch with his toys.

In those moments, I absolutely feel pure joy. It's a great central touchpoint - no matter how awful my day seems, their unconditional love & loyalty often keep me from going over that edge & help me to hold on until the hard moments pass. They know me better than every human on this planet & they still love me unconditionally.

AnvilheadII

i took today thru Weds off, so this is technically Vacation Day #3 if we count Sat and Sun. hank was out of town overnight Sat/Sun so i have had a lot of "by myself" time. something went wrong with work email, gosh darnit, so that really helped me unplug.

altho it's been gradual, i am now ready to make some changes for what i am calling the New Me. something just went ding in my brain while listening to Soulful Simplicity by Courtney Carver as she talked about the changes she made for her health and her life. one of those changes was to clean up the diet and to introduce green juice and smoothies. there was a lot more to it, but that is the part that hit me hardest.

i have a nutribullet, stored away (sigh), so i knew i could easily go shopping for the produce and whatnots and get started right away. i found a great smoothie app and i added to my shopping app and came home with all the goods.

today is day one. first green detox smoothie. i learned you can take a small strainer and turn a smoothie into a juice (fiber vs no fiber) so no need to surf amazon for the latest greatest. i have a couple more blessed non-work days to get my smoothie groove on!!

today i did mini spa day. i did face mask thingie...an actual mask in some special goop, did the 20 minute lie down. i have some amla powder and mixed up a batch, took that to the shower with me. got a new loofa scrubber yesterday and gave everything a vigorous scrub til it stung a little. then put the amla goop on the loofa and scrubbed that in real well. (the aroma is a little odd, but you get over that!). i even put some in my hair before rinsing thoroughly.

i feel good inside and out! i haven't put that much self care into one day in a long time.

i should also add that the air quality in the greater seattle area right now is AWFUL. we have smoke from BC fires, WA state fires, and CA fires all here, and warm temps. last week the haze was here and i had a real hard time just driving home in my car. (late blooming asthma). so being home where i can control the climate and air IN the house, and not having to drive in this soup is such a bonus. just a real gift.

kevlarsjal2

It's a nice topic, and much more important than I thought for a long time

For me it can be a large variety of things that I find joy in. I think it boils down to allowing myself to do what I am in the mood for. That can be eating a piece of cake, being outside in my sunny backyard, having a nice cup of tea, going out for dinner with a friend, buying myself something nice, doing sports, something creative, taking a hot bubble bath,... even cleaning my kitchen can bring me some kind of joy when I'm in the mood for it and put on some nice music.

The safe bet for me is going for a walk through nature though, it's just what puts me most in touch with myself and there are so many fascinating things about our nature.

Aeryn

For me writing songs does it....country of all things (exact opposite of what XRAH liked)....just listening to country brings me a sense of self and the songs start pouring out...not because I want to sell them or have them heard but just because I love writing them.

And watching my daughter sleep (she's 8 months now)...just looking at her so peaceful and knowing everything I did, all of it, including the hard times led to this (I just had my fifth and final surgery hopefully regarding all of the fertility issues so the chapter on that has closed)...to her...I wouldn't change one thing even the darkest times. Had things been easy I wouldn't feel all this joy and she nor I would be the same and we're both exactly how we should be.

And being ready for change...change for some reason brings me hope and joy...I'm starting a new job on Wednesday and I just feel so free and ready to start...it may even lead to a move in the future...another change. I like not feeling stuck and feeling able to evolve, change, close doors and move forward...I never felt that before recovery.

LovePeaceSushi

I was talking about this to my counselor yesterday.....well, rather SHE was advising me to find the small joys and praises in every day. When you really try, you can find a LOT of things to give praise for, even in the darkest of times. I'm grateful and joyful for the roof over my head, my car that has yet to give me any mechanical problems and is paid for, the refrigerator and pantry full of food, my sweet, silly dog, my daughter, shoot, even the rain yesterday that lowered the temperatures in our usually hot climate. She really opened my eyes to the fact that sometimes we have to actively seek the blessings and joy that we have in our lives instead of focusing on the negatives.

FireSprite

I've posted a lot recently about my back yard area & how much work we've put into cleaning, clearing & changing it. It's all very new for me & that's part of what I'm loving about it - the challenge of seeing Nature from a new perspective & appreciating different things about it as a result. I've always loved nature but directly interacting with it in this way has been empowering & meditative at the same time.

This has definitely been a place of Joy for me - not just moments, but actual stretches of time. That's what I'm after - LIVING in Joy as much as possible, not just grabbing random moments as they pass & stringing them together. Don't get me wrong - I completely appreciate those baby steps of happiness & they are important & necessary. I'm just moving beyond that now.

And I'm getting one hell of a workout - bailing out water with buckets, swinging a machete, digging, hauling, running, squatting, etc.

Mango212

Hi FireSprite,

I found another layer of pain wanting to be revealed. This one has been much easier to deal with. Honing my skills in allowing, releasing and turning towards better things helps greatly.

Time and distance helps, too. Not being directly wrapped up in the chaos.

Finding joy, happiness & lightness in me and all around me again. In the sunshine, a chilly morning, a hot fire and a feather on my path everywhere I've been lately.

Joy: healing, welcome, invited. So glad to have it here with me again!!

Sending wishes & good vibes for seeing the great beauty in this day.

Mango212

Finding joy in the laws of karma today, and numerology, and peanut butter cookies.

The bugle of elk. A sandhill crane flying low over a pond. A magpie hanging out at my front door.

lizatola

I find joy every day even when I have days where I am struggling. For me, it's the little things.
Most of the time I find it in nature, experiencing it, tackling it, witnessing it.
But, then I find small human interactions filled with kindness or gratitude that bring me joy, as well.

I am generally a happy person and happiness is found for me in giving and receiving love. But, joy is a feeling that comes about in a place of peace for me. I also feel it when I do yoga and get entranced in my breathing and flowing through the poses. There is a joy that connects my body and my breath that I can't describe.

Thank you for starting this thread and I think you pulling out your camera is a beautiful thing! My son is a photographer and I know it's one of the ways he finds his own peace and joy.

hopeful4

I am still working on this. While I enjoy my family, I am looking for those moments of pure bliss. They don't happen often.

For myself, I am a pretty happy go lucky person. A cup half full type. That being said, I am also high keyed and have a lot of anxiety. For whatever reason, lately, I am finding myself much more at peace as things happen. I no longer find myself in a panic at things that usto put me into pure, raging, red panic attacks. I am much more able to just know things will work out, and be ok. That I don't have to take my children's worries on myelf, nor can I fix everything that ails them, be it physical (although I certainly will try), or emotional, in which I have given them the tools to apply, now I have to trust they will do so.

So while I may not be finding that pure bliss, I am happy. I am not in a panic. I am able to let things slide off my back and not carry those heavy weights around. This is HUGE progress for me. I feel "healed" finally. I will always be a work in progress, but maybe it's just that now I feel more "healed" than not, if that makes a lick of sense LOL.

My therapist even noticed it last time. That I seem different. More calm. More sure. Less panic, more peace. I will take that any day!

Mango212

Finding joy in singing George Ezra songs and making a teepee with kid with fresh cut willows and new sheets that have been on the shelf for a while.

theuncertainty

DS and I had a Saturday a couple weekends ago that was just... perfect. The birch trees were starting to turn and the vegetation above the tree-line on the mountains was starting to change colors. The sun was out and the skies were the gorgeous cool blue that fall brings. We drove around town running errands: groceries, home improvement, stuff for Senshi-Con and Halloween gear.

The drive and walks through the stores were filled with talk about what's good with school, work and play. Songs and good natured teasing. (We were infectious, you guys. So many people would smile back as our attention was caught by a display next to them.)

I love those days, which come when they're least expected.

We'd also spent a weekend visiting Dad a few weeks before that, to help him pick raspberries. He's got 4 different areas on his property with thick stands of canes. The 2 youngest boys (both teens now) got distracted with other projects with their Grandpa, but my oldest nephew kept at it with my sister and I. Dad's clearing- mainly by hand and in his mid-70's - his land to plant a lawn area and a multitude of vegetable and flower gardens, so there was plenty to help with. (The raspberries are being kept, though, he might move them he says.)

FireSprite

Yassssssss!!!! Exactly what I'm talking about!

I so want to take this feeling "off-mat" & immerse in it throughout my days.


Yes ma'am - Baby Steps... makes total & complete sense. I can't move from very negative to very positive in one massive movement - it has to happen incrementally & over time in order to be effective. Otherwise, it's just manic. Reactive.


Definitely - no substitutions for this stuff. Excellent reminder!


I gotta admit, this last weekend was pretty damned ok for me too. Sometimes I hold off on admitting that to myself because I am afraid of jinxing myself or something similarly absurd.

Saturday afternoon was all about DD - she slept in, then started new lessons (guitar/vocal.... she's beyond excited), we had lunch at one of her favorite places & then rested before our evening plans. It was my BFF's birthday & we changed our minds more than a couple of times before heading out for the night - completely off routine & away from our normal hangouts and WITH our husbands for once.... lol. Sunday was incredibly lazy - I READ A BOOK!! - only leaving the house long enough to take a motorcycle ride at sunset. More photography, more time in nature, longer stretches without triggers sending me backtracking emotionally.

Little by little, I'm unclenching.