If you’re like me, the thought of having one more thing to do or one more thing to keep track of adds to the overwhelm of a full-enough schedule. And so I’m looking for a gentler way to move toward life as I think it should be lived.
The vulnerability needed in showing love to others requires me to recognize that my worldview isn’t the only one, and it is biased, based on my temperament, education, and life experiences. Yours is, too.
Someone had to make an effort to create that beauty. Someone or someones had a vision for what this Festival of Lights might bring to our little community as well as the rural folks living nearby.
We must interrogate the stories we tell ourselves so that we avoid embarrassing ourselves and hurting others. Though blaming someone else for our troubles is an easier path, it rarely solves the problem, and it keeps us stuck in a cycle of irresponsibility.
I told myself a story that wasn’t true based on my interpretation of what I read and my own personal lens. I deceived myself by believing what I wanted to believe.
Someone had to make an effort to create that beauty. Someone or someones had a vision for what this Festival of Lights might bring to our little community as well as the rural folks living nearby.
Bringing home a puppy is inviting chaos and a lot of extra work into your home. It’s also saying, “I do” to more love and joy, and that’s what I want, regardless of my age.
I want more joy in 2024, and I’m coming to realize that joy will have little if anything to do with my circumstances. Recognizing the difference between reality and the stories I tell myself about it is key to having more joy.
However, the pursuit of joy and beauty is not without risk of loss. But possessions are meant to be used up in the daily pursuit of joy and beauty, and preserving them for…whatever…we don’t know…puts life on hold and pushes our joy off into the future.
I know that holding close acts of kindness, gentleness, and love can be similar to burying those apple peelings and Brussels sprout trimmings. I know that looking for joy means that I will find it, even in the darkest places.
It’s a cyclical turn: first you have a hard day, and then next I’ll have difficult one. And in between, we somehow find moments of joy. But what can we do when it’s our turn to have the difficult day?