View Full Version : Finding Joy
Anna Hart
1-24-11, 12:11am
One of my goals this year is to find joy in simple things. What are some simple cheap things that bring joy to your life?
Wildflower
1-24-11, 12:52am
For me it is enjoying nature, art and music. And on a cold winter day - a hot cup of tea and 3 little dogs snuggling on the loveseat with me while we watch the snow fall.
What are some simple cheap things that bring joy to your life?
For the most part, things I already have, not hope to get someday. The kitties, a warm comfortable bed, hot showers, good foods, pretty pictures, the outdoors, my blueberry plants, tomato seedlings, freshly laundered clothes, nice garden gloves, sharp pruning sheers, favorite cups, good hot tea, the color yellow, new smilies, the crackers I've been making, and making them, the insulated cookie sheets, sharp kitchen knives, running water, candles, the fireplace, my favorite garden hat, Cary Grant movies on tv, beaded bracelets, yard sale finds, the yellow undies, compact florescent light bulbs ...
The list is endless, and covers most everyday items, with one thought leading to the next. I suppose they are things most others wouldn't consider special, just things that I enjoy and appreciate in the present moment each and every day.
I am with Gina and her list. I was surprised one day to turn on the cold water tap and really look at it. It is a marvel and I felt such gratitude for that moment. women around the world have to haul water which is limited in supply and I just need to turn on the tap.
I find that it is gratitude and its expression which gives me the joy. I have so much to be grateful for that joy just bubbles up.
Here's a short list of simple things I find joy in doing.
Pinning/drying washables on the clothesline.
Washing/drying dishes by hand.
Ironing when the house is quiet.
Baking bread/goodies.
Gardening.
Going for a walk with my kids.
Involving myself with this forum in the company of a great cup of coffee.
Adding that all things simple bring me joy.
1. sitting in the gardens and watching flowers and veggie grow
2. digging in the dirt so I can see #1
3. just sitting and watching the chickens
4. being by myself on the lake with my kayak - sometimes paddling hard and fast - sometimes just floating along looking at the rock walls and critters in my favorite cove
5. something I miss and was always peaceful/joyful - being in the horse barn and shoveling the stalls
6. hiking the cliff trail, finding a good rock to watch the trout fishing below or the sky above for eagles or vultures
7. sometimes just closing my eyes and concentrating on my breathing......and thankful that I do.
I am with Gina and her list. I was surprised one day to turn on the cold water tap and really look at it. It is a marvel and I felt such gratitude for that moment. women around the world have to haul water which is limited in supply and I just need to turn on the tap.
I find that it is gratitude and its expression which gives me the joy. I have so much to be grateful for that joy just bubbles up.
Yes, exactly. It's recognizing all that we actually do have in life, and letting the joy flow.
A few years ago I took a trip to Africa. Commonly people take pens and t-shirts, but I took about 30 used tennis balls with which to barter. It nearly broke my heart when mothers would come up to me and beg for an old used tennis ball for their kids to play with. An old used tennis ball.... It makes one realize how very much we have, and how much easier our lives are.
After I wrote my list yesterday I was thinking about the subject. As I looked around my desk, and then around the room, I realized that almost everything I have, if taken singly, brings me joy. In part because most of it simply wouldnt have been around for our ancestors or most poor people in the world. I appreciate them because they are either useful, functional, or beautiful.
Think what daily life would be like without.... scotchtape. Paper and pencils and pens. Remote controls. chapstick. sunglasses. photographs. flashlights. stovetops. Refrigerators. windows. a roof. lamps. a car. the computer......
I htink often we take such common things for granted, yet as razz said, like running water, many people do not have most of what we have. I am happy having them and indeed they bring appreciation and joy to my life.
camping; even in the home; saving money; even a small amount; getting outside in the spring, fall and winter and hiking or doing the urban walk; just got back from the doctors ofice, which come to find out they had called and cancelled; so i treated myself to a cup of coffee and then walked home; i just love it; its hard on my body but a much needed dose of therapy for my brain
ApatheticNoMore
1-25-11, 4:53pm
Walking, enough to get a bit of endorphin. Anywhere, suburbs, nature. Noticing beautiful landscapes while walking, noticing plants, identifying plants. The sunshine on my skin if I'm walking in the day. Being outdoors.
What a lovely thread!
good food
time with loved ones
purring cats
hot showers or warm bubble baths
that freshly washed laundry smell
candlelight
baking bread
the great outdoors (flowers, sunsets, etc.)
helping others
a good book or movie (borrowed from the library)
watching the squirrels and birds from my window
I think one of the best ways to find joy is to keep a gratitude journal. Being grateful for what one has and writing it down brings joy in itself - just like the above posters have done.
Linda
treehugger
1-25-11, 6:20pm
Definitely my dogs and one of my cats (the other cat? not so much) bring me the most joy, every day. The dogs even make me laugh out loud at least once a day, which is a great thing for well being (my fitness instructor calls that "laughter yoga."
One new thing I am doing in 2011 that has helped me recognize all the hundreds of tiny things that bring me joy on a regular basis is to make a daily "Happiness is..." posting on facebook. This is different in scope (for me) than a gratitude journal because I am focusing on the small pleasures rather than the larger, big picture things I am permanently grateful for (health, family, roof over my head, enough food, etc.). Some days (Mondays!) I really have to think about it, but once my brain wakes up, it's fun and easy and effective.
Last week I traveled for work and my post was, "Happiness is...a compatible travel partner."
Paying close attention to things I would otherwise overlook, like looking upwards when I walk to work so I can see all the beautiful architecture and carvings in the buildings that seem to go unnoticed when it's so busy down below.
And still blushing when my boyfriend of three years smiles at me :)
The main thing is just coming back to the moment and gathering in my awareness of the present moment. No matter where I am or what I'm doing in, that usually brings me joy.
And just a few specifics,
Walking with my dog Nessie in the park along the brook behind my house
Getting a call from one of my adult kids
Sitting with DH at night under a throw watching TV
Turning in good work to my client
"Nuggying" (a.k.a. "cuddling") with DH under the covers
Meandering
Making (and eating) a really nice soup
Laughing at the wonderful senses of humor of my kids/DH/BIH.
Ironing
Taking air-dried clothing off the line and folding it carefully
Lighting the hall candle (which usually means I anticipate company)
Looking at my cheap and hodge-podge decorating job--which includes the fruits of the DIY labor of my DH and I. When I stand on the bathroom tiles, I remember the New Year's Eve we decided to stay in and demo the bathroom instead, and while others were singing Auld Lang Syne, we were creating tile plumb lines on the floor.
And, as Emily Webb said in the play Our Town (see my autosignature): "....clocks ticking…and Mama’s sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths…and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you!"
i have to mention good sweets and a good cup of coffee; chatting with my senior parents and laughing with them; kids; watching them; interacting with them; from babies on up;
Definitely the library... I get such a high when I come home with an armload of books to read and DVDS to watch.
hulu.com....for movies and TV shows...especially British shows set in beautiful small towns with quirky characters
NATURE
The park trails and swimming holes in Austin
and much much more....
I find that it is gratitude and its expression which gives me the joy. I have so much to be grateful for that joy just bubbles up.
:+1:
During the most difficult times of my life, I would actually write a list of 10 items I was grateful for each day. I am sure that it saved my life.
And I would add that I am grateful for running hot and cold water every single day.
Just some examples from the last week.
-DH brought me pink tulips. They are so bright and cheery I almost forget it's January.
-Last night my middle daughter and I went shopping to get supplies for her to make a present for her older sister. There she was surrounded by all the kinds of bright shiny objects that any five year old girl would find exciting and attractive, but she kept her focus on her sister. The whole time it was, "Cheyenne would like this, she loves mermaids" or "How about this? Cheyenne loves roses." When we got home we spent a fun half hour with a glue gun putting shells and sea glass on a wood mirror frame to make a mermaid mirror. We were laughing and joking. It was fun to see my daughter put so much of herself and so much thought into a gift for her sister.
-Watching my kids all snuggled up in my bed this morning.
-Sharing a meal with my whole family around the table. Even better when friends are there too. Tonight is homemade French Onion soup and we're having some friends over. I love having to break out the folding chairs and squeeze a bunch of kids onto the bench. The more the merrier.
-Seeing my newest son on the ultrasound machine yesterday. Watching him stretch and yawn. Imagining the mischief he will get into with his toddler brother. I've never seen a baby move as much as the new one. Constant motion.
-Talking on the phone to my mom and realizing it's been two solid hours and we've solved all the world's problems. :)
-Sharing a "pink sparkle cookie" with my daughter from the bakery I went to with my mom when I was a little kid.
-Naps. Sweet, sweet sleep.
-Meaty discussions with my dad and friends about controversial subjects. Not having to agree on every little thing and still loving and respecting each other.
-Watching netflix movies on my laptop with DH while laying in bed. Still feeling as goofy in love with him as I did when we got married eight years ago.
All that is in the last few days. I am a lucky woman.
I am a lucky woman.
Yes, you are.
winterberry
2-3-11, 12:59am
All of the above.
And clouds. Actually I love the sky almost any day or night. But some are more beautiful than others. On a really good sky day I can be downright blissful. The only skies I'm not so fond of are the overcast grey ones, but they make me appreciate the others more. Clear blue skies are not as good as cloudy ones. Clouds make the sunsets beautiful.
Also wild places. I like nature anywhere I find it, but especially when it's untouched by civilization. The wind makes almost anyplace feel wild. I love the wind.
Once I heard a young man from Africa speak to a group of students. He said we shouldn't feel sorry for the poor people in Africa because they are happy. They have what their neighbors have. And they live in community. That's something they have that I would like to have. I don't know most of my neighbors....
Spending time with a friend gives me joy.
ApatheticNoMore
2-3-11, 3:46am
Locally grown food. Yes, that's a buzzword (and a worthy one), but I mean something more poetic:
Just picked tangerines after working in the sunshine. It's almost of a single cloth: the air, the sun, the physical labor, the tangerine! Those almost aren't even separate things.
A just picked kumquat squished against the back of my mouth before exercise outdoors, after exercise followed by just picked sprigs of mint (and just general nibbling at my herbs).
Physical assertion and my hunger regulates itself to what grows locally (albeit not natively). Nothing is more intense, I love even the bite of mint and citrus.
Gardenarian
2-7-11, 4:14pm
I find that creating something is the easiest way for me get directly from feeling empty to feeling "life is good!"
I like to write fiction and poetry. I also like to draw, especially flowers and birds.
The focussed concentration needed to create seems to ignite an area of my brain that is usually asleep. The process of creation is exhilerating, and even if the creation doesn't turn out as I expected, it is always better than having done nothing.
dado potato
2-19-11, 2:03am
My garlic shoots are 5 inches tall, and I saw a flock of robins.
Slicing open a perfect avocado and splitting it apart; the first peek of that incredible yellow-green is so lovely!
Sad Eyed Lady
2-19-11, 11:04am
Definitely the library... I get such a high when I come home with an armload of books to read and DVDS to watch.
hulu.com....for movies and TV shows...especially British shows set in beautiful small towns with quirky characters
NATURE
The park trails and swimming holes in Austin
and much much more....
Jinger - loved your comment about the library. I feel this too and had never expressed it or heard anyone else express it, but I guess "a high" would be accurate. When I come home from the library with new books, it's like I have a bag full of treasures and almost a giddy feeling! Can't wait to get in them and decide which one to read first (fiction), see what's in the non-fiction that I can learn, do or just enjoy. Thanks for sharing this.
Also babr mentioned a good cup of coffee and sweets. I second that one also. A nice pastry, roll, muffin and (for me) good hot, black coffee is a true joy.
ApatheticNoMore
2-19-11, 4:01pm
Sitting at the local (an easy walk) coffee shop, had a croissant with butter (yea I know, not the healthiest thing), and hot rooibos tea with cream. Just sitting there sipping my tea, blissed out. Rooibos tea is so good, I can't believe it's legal :D
rosarugosa
2-19-11, 11:17pm
Sometimes recognizing that a moment is utterly perfect, for no particular reason, it just is. And recognizing it for what it is, and taking pleasure in it . . .
Sad Eyed Lady
2-20-11, 11:04am
Sometimes recognizing that a moment is utterly perfect, for no particular reason, it just is. And recognizing it for what it is, and taking pleasure in it . . .
And, those moments are so rare that when they do happen they are pure joy. Yeats has a poem that addresses this and if I can find it to copy and paste I will post it here. I love it and refer to it often, because those moments are so special - and fleeting.
Sad Eyed Lady
2-20-11, 11:08am
And, those moments are so rare that when they do happen they are pure joy. Yeats has a poem that addresses this and if I can find it to copy and paste I will post it here. I love it and refer to it often, because those moments are so special - and fleeting.
Vacillation is the name of the poem
My fiftieth year had come and gone,
I sat, a solitary man,
In a crowded London shop,
An open book and empty cup
On the marble table-top.
While on the shop and street I gazed
My body of a sudden blazed;
And twenty minutes more or less
It seemed, so great my happiness,
That I was blessed and could bless.
rosarugosa
2-20-11, 4:04pm
Shalom Poet,
Yes, that's it exactly, and so perfectly expressed! Thanks for sharing.
Waking up early, to rain, like today, and starting a pot of soup. Spending time inside on rainy days cooking, baking, and cleaning/tidying up, is what rainy days are all about!
Finding joy is not in "things"--Joy is not extrinsic. If you have the joy-light on the insight it shines on everything outside equally.
Finding joy, is finding peace within.
Float On
12-21-11, 10:48am
This was such a great thread at the beginning of the year. Really enjoyed taking a few minutes this morning to re-read it. Was very glad to realize that I did almost everything this year that I listed on my list (the only thing I missed was mucking a horse stall). Even though in many ways it's been a bad year (financially, husband's career, relationship with husband, a few physical problems, loss of a dear friend to cancer, loss of two art friends) it has been a good year. I've been more joyful in taking time to do some of the things I enjoy. I've put more effort into my part-time job at our church (and it was noticed and I just rec'd a nice end of the year bonus). I've slowed down. I've learned a few things. I'm grateful for finding joy in the moment.
dado potato
12-21-11, 9:41pm
I saw a headline in the paper: Chinese Aircraft Carrier Spotted.
And I asked Art the barber: "Why would the Chinese put spots on their carrier? I thought they were smarter than to do such a thing."
That time, Art was sipping on his tea, and I got some joy, cuz he just about had to spit something out.
Going for a walk in the woods. Art in general as I am an artist, going to art galleries, openings and shows. Free music concerts. Digging through the stacks at the library. Spending time talking with friends over coffee.
When I think of what brings me joy, my thoughts first turn to things I'm so grateful for. At the moment, I have what I need to survive and more: shelter, food, not living in a war zone, clean water and indoor plumbing, climate control systems that work at a touch of a button, and electricity and all that goes with that (radio, TV, phone, and computer, all for entertainment, education and communication). I am grateful to be free of substance addictions and to be in a happy marriage with a man I truly love. I am grateful to be debt-free-except-for-the-house. I am grateful I have good physical health and all my faculties, even though some of them are showing some wear and tear by now. I am grateful I can read and I am grateful for all the chances I had to become educated. I am grateful for everything I have experienced thus far, even the tougher times. I am also very grateful that we will be moving to Israel next week, and can settle permanently there.
My temple congregation brings me great joy, as does my volunteer work with the cats at the local no-kill shelter. Libraries bring me joy, as does learning anything new. Humor delights me no end, as do little children and teenagers. Art, poetry, music, dance, movies, craftwork...if it's done well, all those things bring me joy. Just seeing the birds and flowers in my neighborhood brings me joy, as does watching the surf. So many things to be happy about and appreciative of! I am truly fortunate.
catherine
12-22-11, 9:44am
I don't want to sound cheezy, but just being alive. Joy is what you project onto--not what you take from--things like rainbows and sunflowers. Joy comes from within--and that's where you find it. Every moment is where you can find joy.
"I like nature anywhere I find it, but especially when it's untouched by civilization." (Winterberry)
You'd love my yard... http://www.kolobok.us/smiles/artists/mother_goose/MG_118.gif
For me, many of the things listed bring me contentment, but not real joy. That I seem only to experience when I give it to someone else. Then, like a boomerang, it comes back to me.
HappyHiker
12-22-11, 4:01pm
Joy! What a great topic. Joy is in the simple things that make you happy...for me, it's often color. Color really influences my mood--and hence, my joy... I wrote about here: http://vibrantvillage.com/2010/01/17/joy-came-into-my-room/
and the "joy" of it all is that the list is endless!
Merry Christmas
With spring right around the corner, I'm finding joy in looking outside watching the snow melt, the days turn warmer, and hearing the birds signing again. I feel so energetic and full of life when this time of year rolls round. Never fails to spark life in me.
the rumbly purr of my kitten, a hot cup of tea on a cold day, warm slippers, the exhilaration i feel after i've challenged myself physically.
A joyously warm sunny day before the next snow storm hits -- hope springs eternal, and my winter-blinders start to come off. Ahhhhhhhhhh.
Uplifting Europop tunes (L'abitudine!) on my MP3 player, ten minutes of semi-strenuous exercise, a long view of the leaden but calm waters of Lake Washington, and the ligament on my bum knee finally edged back into place so I can straighten that leg. What more could I possibly ask from life! Seriously.
thanks for the bump, Mrs. M. This has been full of good reminders. Joy is in the details or maybe in noticing the details, those sensory inputs that can just slide by without attention. So inhaling the steam from my cup of tea, feeling myself settle into sitting upstairs in the room we lovingly call the loft (even though there is nothing lofty about it), and just BEING with the pleasure of the space and the morning and the hot drink in my hand and time to be-without-doing. That's where I come close to joy.
And I forgot to mention the joy of hearing the birds in the early morning. It is nearly spring, even here, even with piles of snow on the ground and more in the forecast. The birds' hormones are flowing and so is the morning songfest....When I heard that characteristic "dee-dee" the other day, I felt a settling in of myself...yeah, we have nearly made it through another winter. (I don't think I am really suited for life in the Maritimes....but here I am anyway.)
Today I am finding joy in finally getting to a bunch of little tasks that I've been wanting to tackle for a long time. I fixed the kids' second place snowman contest trophy, for example, and shortened some curtains I've been meaning to shorten for four years. If I get a wild hair and a free hour I may shorten the curtains in the boys' bedroom too. I like the satisfaction of finally checking those things off of my mental to-do list.
I am getting a boost from watching my new roses leaf out!!
dado potato
3-14-12, 6:48pm
I just returned from a hike to Morgan Falls, Northwest of Mellen WI (Forestry Road 199). It was a warm (70 degrees) sunny day, but the trail and forest floor still were covered with snow. The cedar woods were chilly (as always), and the aspen woods were warm. There were 3 plank footbridges over musical brooks. The woods were still, except for the odd woodpecker or chickadee, until one heard the rush of the falls, audible from a quarter mile away.
The trail ended at the base of Morgan Falls, approximately 70' red granite cleft. The snowmelt water made a four-phase zig-zag in a cloud of sunlit spray. Then the water collected in a black pool (encircled by white snow in a profound contrast), before it tumbled over the red and black rocks, down the stream to Lake Superior.
Up the walls of the rock cleft grew green mosses and fully unfurled maiden-ferns.
Ben Gieske wrote:
The spring
pours forth its song
gushes forth into a
waterfall -- its secret song deep
within.
I just returned from a hike to Morgan Falls, Northwest of Mellen WI (Forestry Road 199). It was a warm (70 degrees) sunny day, but the trail and forest floor still were covered with snow. The cedar woods were chilly (as always), and the aspen woods were warm. There were 3 plank footbridges over musical brooks. The woods were still, except for the odd woodpecker or chickadee, until one heard the rush of the falls, audible from a quarter mile away.
The trail ended at the base of Morgan Falls, approximately 70' red granite cleft. The snowmelt water made a four-phase zig-zag in a cloud of sunlit spray. Then the water collected in a black pool (encircled by white snow in a profound contrast), before it tumbled over the red and black rocks, down the stream to Lake Superior.
Up the walls of the rock cleft grew green mosses and fully unfurled maiden-ferns.
Ben Gieske wrote:
The spring
pours forth its song
gushes forth into a
waterfall -- its secret song deep
within.
Simply lovely, dado potato!
Biking, walking, jogging, my dogs.
Watching different birds come to the feeder supplying safflower, peanuts and black oil seeds and the acrobatics of the various birds learning to use the upside-down suet block feeder.
Lily of the valley is in full bloom with the pansies.
Yesterday I gave my emergency protein bar to my pregnant co-worker who's lunch had disappeared; a cough drop to a coughing woman in the store; a band aid to a random man at the track meet; And 18 sandwiches, pb cookies, granola bars, pineapple & water to my son's track team. Not meaning to brag but those things gave me great joy!
Today, a nice breezy cool morning walk with the dog. Saw a family of geese on our little lake.
Gardenarian
5-16-12, 4:25pm
Smiling, even when you don't feel like it, and pretty soon you feel like it.
Hiking in the mountains. I did that last weekend for the first time in almost a year.
Time with good friends. Gardening. Being able to create something - now that the semester's done, I have more time for that.
This morning we saw a mama fox and her five tiny kits frolicking and wrestling on an old dirt road near our house. Adorable. Beautiful.
Bumping this thread, as a reminder of how often we tend to overlook and forget the simple things. Things that calm us, and heal our souls and spirits.
For me it's hard to beat the repetitive motions of gentle or moderate walking/hiking or biking just about anywhere that there is no traffic noise. I enjoy the more vigorous forms of these also, but I can go into almost a meditative state when the exertion is less demanding. Also, just sitting back and listening to good classic jazz with no distractions.
When it comes to chores, maybe stacking firewood and hanging clothes to dry.
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