Share the Joy Thursday: Draft Template

Writing a post about joy first thing on a Thursday morning sets the intention for joy for the whole rest of the day. It is a beautiful spiritual practice, and I'm grateful to Kim and Meri for thinking of it. 




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And as always, this Thursday I share the joy of:

Being alive still another day

Anticipating the day as being "good" :)

Being able to see

Feeling like we are all connected (because we are)

YOU

If you are reading this...today...I wish you JOY!

Share the Joy Thursday: Come With Me On a Walk Down My Driveway and Share My Joy

Share the Joy Thursday: And in Illness

Writing a post about joy first thing on a Thursday morning sets the intention for joy for the whole rest of the day. It is a beautiful spiritual practice, and I'm grateful to Kim and Meri for thinking of it. 

So today I am sharing the joy even though I have shingles. For the 4th time. The last time was five years ago. But my joy is in that I am able to be connected to you and with myself...and yes, I am even able to FEEL the joy although sick...illness is a part of life! And showing up for "what is" is also a part of life, I am finding out...paradoxically, this BRINGS joy. Today, I am wishing YOU joy!

Here is my piece "Joy in Pain" completed:

And as always, this Thursday I share the joy of:

Being alive still another day

Anticipating the day as being "good" :)

Being able to see

Feeling like we are all connected (because we are)

YOU

If you are reading this...today...I wish you JOY!

~photo by me with my iPhone

Share the Joy Thursday: Even in Pain...

Writing a post about joy first thing on a Thursday morning sets the intention for joy for the whole rest of the day. It is a beautiful spiritual practice, and I'm grateful to Kim and Meri for thinking of it. 

I found a post that spoke to me on Kathryn Antyr's blog the other day, Collage Diva. It is about grace, and joy, and how people are hurting because this is the human condition. It is about feeling joy and bringing it to others.

Joy is so vital, isn't it? I'm glad we celebrate Thursdays and allocate it as a day specifically for joy.

It is supposedly summer here, but the warmth hasn't arrived yet and the garden is confused. Things that I usually have a lot of (strawberries) I have none of and other things (our cherry tree) is heavy with fruit. Here are some cherries I got from my cherry tree--about 4 pounds!

After your comments on my last post, I decided to delve into my art again and see what would come out. I hadn't done anything since mid-June. I found two uncompleted projects and worked for a brief bit on them. I am going to post them here mid-way completed and then again for you when I'm done.

This is a castle I made out of some packing material and the tops off of the syringes my hormone creams come in. I don't know why, but I love it. It has a ways to go yet.

This is a collage I made out of packing materials. It's hard to see and just barely started, although I've been working on it for so long (maybe a year). It says "joy in pain" (the letters have glare on them). I hope you'll enjoy seeing both of these two projects when they are done.

We are so blessed to be here, as Rebecca said, and to find joy...even in pain.

And as always, this Thursday I share the joy of:

Being alive still another day

Anticipating the day as being "good" :)

Being able to see

Feeling like we are all connected (because we are)

YOU

If you are reading this...today...I wish you JOY!

Share the Joy Thursday: Being Brave With Hard Big Changes

Writing a post about joy first thing on a Thursday morning sets the intention for joy for the whole rest of the day. It is a beautiful spiritual practice, and I'm grateful to Kim and Meri for thinking of it. 

Today I opened up and trusted someone.

Today I started making Two Hard Big Changes...changes I will tell you about later, when I am ready.

Today I truly am filled with joy, and even happiness as well.

As always, this Thursday I share the joy of:

Being alive still another day

Anticipating the day as being "good" :)

Being able to see

Feeling like we are all connected (because we are)

YOU

If you are reading this...today...I wish you JOY!

~Artwork by me, edited by me

Share the Joy Thursday: Walking Amongst the Birds with Rocks

Writing a post about joy first thing on a Thursday morning sets the intention for joy for the whole rest of the day. It is a beautiful spiritual practice, and I'm grateful to Kim and Meri for thinking of it. 


This post is about a walk I took on Sunday at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. It brought me so much joy because I haven't been able to go there in many years; it was closed for a while and I had various leg and foot issues. I dearly love to walk, and in the continental United States, this is my very favorite place to walk. So I was thrilled to have the chance to go again. To make it even more special, I took some "Rock My World" rocks from Kim Mailhot, the Queen of Arts, a.k.a. "the Rock Fairy". I thought that this would allow me to leave a little bit of love behind. This brought me joy. 

Here are some pictures of my walk at Nisqually:

In this one below, can you see the top of Mount Rainier poking up? It is so majestic, and you can only see it on a clear day.

Now, here below you can see the "Rock My World" rocks I left behind for people to find. If you look closely you may be able to read the affirming message left on each one:

In the picture below, can you find the "Rock My World" rock?

And as always, this Thursday I share the joy of:

Being alive still another day

Anticipating the day as being "good" :)

Being able to see

Feeling like we are all connected (because we are)

YOU

If you are reading this...today...I wish you JOY!

Share the Joy Thursday: Taking Off the Compression Garments

Writing a post about joy first thing on a Thursday morning sets the intention for joy for the whole rest of the day. It is a beautiful spiritual practice, and I'm grateful to Kim and Meri for thinking of it. 

I am back from Texas. All went well last week. Right before my colonoscopy, LoveHubbie went to the emergency room. He is okay, but getting extensive medical testing for an incredible number of problems. I still was able to have my procedure, biopsies were taken, and were cancer-free. For this I am grateful.

What brings me joy today:

Seeing my stepson and his beautiful bride start out life together as man and wife.


A very kind distant relative at the wedding who took care of my mother-in-law out of the generosity of his heart, performing an act of kindness that will stay with me a long time. Unexpected kindnesses are the best kind, and the memory of this is very touching to me. 

New beginnings, fresh starts, major life changes.

Precious friends, including all of you.

My amazing therapist.

Being able to live in the Pacific Northwest.

Surviving one of the most difficult weeks of my life.

People who have come alongside me and helped me.


My loved one getting help.

Being able to see.

I can think of an analogy for how I am feeling. During the wedding, I wore "compression garments". That's a great name for them. The ones I had were ultra-compressing. They did their job very well. For those of you who don't know what these are, they are like the old-time girdles except way more comfortable and without metal pieces and for all different parts of your body.

It was weird when I took them off though. I felt like I was releasing, letting go, "plumping out". Everything relaxed out--swelled back up--over about 15 minutes. Although I'd become used to the compression garments, when I took them off I relaxed so much in places I didn't even know I was being held in.

That's how I feel now emotionally. A large portion of some stress I've been living with for a long time has ended, and I feel myself relaxing, "plumping out", releasing and seeing the world differently. It is a soft, gentle, nurturing feeling.

Thank you, everyone, for your support on my last post. Thank you for reading, for being there, for seeing, for commenting.

~Orchid photos by LoveHubbie Mark, edited by me

Floating In Limbo, Waiting, Learning...

It has been 17 days since I've last blogged and so much has happened, I hardly know how to catch up.

I've been "hanging in there", taking one day at a time, which for me is a triumph. I'm still here, and haven't fallen apart. Someone I care a great deal about is though (falling apart), health-wise and otherwise, making decisions that have really painful consequences. I've been working to take care of myself, to not be controlling (as much as I know how to do, a skill that I am continuing to hone daily) or interfering beyond sharing my concerns and offering my support. I've been working to not try to plan for the future, as it feels as though I'm standing on sand that is shifting below my feet and it's all I can do to not fall down or sink.

This takes up most of my life energy, of course. I don't have much creative mojo for writing or art. I know it will come back when there is the space for it.

I've missed Sacred Life Sundays, although life feels so sacred to me every single day. I feel blessed in so many ways and very happy to be alive. Happy to see.

I've missed Share the Joy Thursdays; I haven't been able to share the joy with you all, but have felt your joy as I've visited your blogs, usually not commenting, but not wanting to lose touch as I ride my roller coaster of a life. I've felt joy through much of my own each day as well, especially in the small things.

I've missed Wellness Wednesdays, but other than problems with minor anxiety-related things (e.g., insomnia, blepharospasm, globus hystericus, panic attacks, migraines, etc.), I've been remarkably healthy, one of the greatest blessings of all. I somaticize a lot, and these are things I've dealt with in the past in a less concentrated and less intense way and don't consider serious--just warning signs that my body is trying to process everything and is having difficulty. I do heed them, though, and am really focused on getting through this time. Sometimes I don't think I have the skills but really I know I do.

This weekend I'm doing the prep for a colonoscopy, which I'm having on Monday. I had one that was unsuccessful two years ago and have been working up the courage to repeat it. This definitely qualifies as a Be Brave challenge for me, as I dread them. For some weird reason, I really fear perforation of my colon--I'm actually phobic about it--but only during a colonoscopy, which limits the problem that it is in my life. It's pretty much the only thing I'm phobic about and I don't get colonoscopies. Except for this one on Monday.

Then right after the colonoscopy I'm off to my stepson's wedding. My husband is the groom's father. The rest of the family--the engaged couple, the bride's parents and the groom's mother and stepfather--have primarily been involved in the planning, not us. We are paying for part of it and are invited to much of it. It will be great for LoveHubbie to see his family, especially his adult children, and get to meet everyone--the bride and her parents, especially. It's in Texas.

In this post, I think I'm not saying more than I'm saying, but I know you will understand and hear.

Share the Joy Thursday: In Pictures

Writing a post about joy first thing on a Thursday morning sets the intention for joy for the whole rest of the day. It is a beautiful spiritual practice, and I'm grateful to Kim and Meri for thinking of it. 

Today I thought I'd share some pictures from this blog--blasts from the past--that exemplify joy. I really enjoyed going through old posts to share these with you...I discovered that this blog is FULL of joy :)



Bunny Lips from  Cute Overload, Feb 2007.










From this post in Feb 2007, photo taken by me, this is LoveHubbie Mark in Kula, Maui back in the days when he didn't work on vacation:

From this post in March 2007, of my parents-in-law: look at their eyes and you'll see how happily married they are! 

This is a picture from a post in March 2007 of brother's feet relaxing in a stream, taken by him and stolen from his flicker account. Do you have moments like this? I have fewer than I'd like:



This is a post of a laughing baby. What joy young children share with us! This was from a post in April 2007, with a picture of my brother taken by one of my parents:

This painting is on my wall in the nook where I work. Just looking at it brings me so much joy. I write about it in this post from April of 2007. Plus I noticed in the comments that this post was when I first met my good friend Rick, something which definitely brings me joy!


This sweet little dog in a post from April 2007 by Cute Overload:


This is from a post I did in May of 2007 called "The Clitoris", can you believe it? I would recommend you read (or re-read) this post for sure...the picture is by LoveHubbie Mark.



And as always, this Thursday I share the joy of:

Being alive still another day

Anticipating the day as being "good" :)

Being able to see

Feeling like we are all connected (because we are)

YOU

If you are reading this...today...I wish you JOY!