Tag: joy

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August Shadorma

I’ve taken a month to share the stories of Dad’s final days and the stories and wisdom he imparted. Today, I am stepping into the month of August with a deliberate departure from these somber daily reflections that have been a central part of my mornings in July. I’ll celebrate the small joys in nature and the blessings and focus on these for August before returning with the story of Kona, Dad’s dog, near the end of the month. Sharing the stories was a helpful way to begin the grieving process, but shifting the focus to a month of looking for the blessings is my intentional choice this month – even if it’s just getting through a tough day.

step outside

hear morning birdsong

reminders

that there are

still things worth celebrating

even through the tears

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January Open Write Day 2 with Gayle Sands of Maryland

Gayle Sands of Maryland is our host for Day 2 of the January Open Write at http://www.ethicalela.com. You can read her prompt and poem here. Today, we are writing KonMari poems to honor the legendary clutter-clean out queen Marie Kondo. I’m bringing my One Little Word into the first line of my poem today – enough.

“To truly cherish the things that are important to you, 

you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.”

Marie Kondo

Keepsakes Unkept 2

we’ll keep just enough :

*the dogs

*each other

(in that order)

*our jobs

*our dream of downsizing

for camper travel

*our sparse simplicity

that might seem boring

to anyone else

we’ll jettison some cargo:

* “gifts” bestowed, heavily-storied

relics with sentiments not ours

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A Calm Christmas: Comfort and Joy in Winter

This December, I’m slowly making my way through Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year by Beth Kempton (2019), and in Chapter 3, she presents ways to seek comfort and joy in winter by seeking our natural rhythms and learning from nature.

She shares her experience searching for deer with her father when she was nine years old, hoping to capture photographs of them at dawn when all the rest of the world was still sleeping. Through this experience, she is certain that she finds her spirit animal and holds to the belief that the fallow fawn shares secrets that lead to discovery and strength, even still through the memories she made that day.

Another reflection she shares is her rhythm of childhood winters, with such predictability that there is great comfort in the daily routines and patterns of familiarity – getting dressed by the heater, pressing her nose against the window of the toy store, eating porridge each morning, caroling, bedtime stories. What can seem humdrum has roots of dependability in the knowing that things are the way they are and taking a deep sense of certainty in the simple, mundane living of days.

Kempson writes in Chapter 3, “At this time of year, it’s natural to slow down, prune our lives of extraneous details, reflect on past events, and tend our hearts, minds, and bodies so we are ready to flourish again.” There’s a quietness to the process. To contemplate our winter rhythms, Kempton encourages us to find a still, quiet place and think about what brings us comfort and joy at this time of year, and throws in a glimmering question to chew on: what would radical winter wellness look like for you?

Radical winter wellness – what a concept! At first thought, a cup of steaming hot tea with local honey and fresh lemon come rushing to mind. Long walks with the dogs across the farm, breathing plenty of fresh air deep into the lungs seems like ultimate wellness also, along with simmering soups chock full of fresh vegetables with bright orange carrots just right. Zesty navel oranges and cinnamon oatmeal with brown sugar, and quiet moments of reading by the fire all proclaim wellness, too.

And radical wellness for the mind. That is found in a stack of delightful reading and a crossword puzzle – and I’ve ordered a calendar with them so I have a short puzzle each day to chew on – – a mini crossword like a small piece of chocolate from a candy jar – just enough to satisfy. Just enough to bring comfort and peace.

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Going Bananas

Photo by Rachel Claire on Pexels.com

when the world

takes on its murky

hue and the heaviness

of the anchor spirals

downward making it

hard to keep my head

above water I wonder

about my age

and whether I’ve

depleted all the

happy chemicals

or whether I

just need to

eat a banana

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They Know Me

For Christmas, my grandchildren made me hand-stitched birds. The love that went into each stitch is precious and was a labor of love and patience for them and for their mother. They will adorn my new office space as soon as we get moved into our new building. These are far too lovely to hang only once a year on a tree. I need them where I am reminded daily of my blessings, for those times I get caught up in the work day and forget that there are so many reasons to smile and take things in stride. I love that their mother is already teaching them that the key to the fine art of gift giving is in the heart of the recipient – and that handmade gifts are the most special of all!

A great big thank you to my grandchildren!

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Travel Photographs on Canvas

“Creative living is stranger than other, more worldly pursuits. The usual rules do not apply.” – Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

Eagle in Ketchikan, Alaska

Something about photographs takes me back to the memories I hold dear. That’s why one of my goals this year is having several of my favorite pictures made into 16×20 canvas wood-framed wallhangings. So far, I have had 6 of them created, and I’m loving the feelings that they bring at the start of each day.

The first is an eagle that we watched from a hovercraft in Ketchikan, Alaska swooping down for fish in June 2022. The spectacular show inspired hundreds of photos, and I chose my favorite fraction of a second to place on my bathroom wall so that every morning, I start the day with sheer splendor and the gratefulness to have witnessed the majestic wingspan and precision of these birds.

Another is of our White Christmas on a farm in Kentucky at sunset. The angle and shades of light were mesmerizing, and they blend into the orange pop of energy contained in my walls – chosen specifically to be like a burst of citrus at daybreak ~ awakening me and rejuvenating my senses.

Dowdell’s Knob, Pine Mountain, Georgia

One I haven’t hung yet was taken at Dowdell’s Knob in Pine Mountain, Georgia when my son and his family were visiting with us in one of F. D. Roosevelt’s favorite picnic spots near his home at the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia. We had our own picnic, made s’mores, and enjoyed the scenery from atop the mountain. And the hidden secret here is that the newest grandbaby is in the picture – – (arriving in July).

Each adventure brings its own special moments, and Canvas on the Cheap helped me turn these into beautifully preserved photographs that bring me joy and gratefulness!

Kentucky White Christmas