It is so wonderful to work simply for the joy of it! Keeps you coming back every day. Even when the sales and the acclaim are not there, you have your experience of joy. Exploring the beauty of something that isn't readily apparent to you can be an experience that is deepening. Take, for instance, the music of your teenagers (or if you don't have any - teenagers or their music - flip onto "their" radio stations). If you are a fine artist, learn more about a performance artist, better yet, allow a youngster to share his creative experience. You can be renewed in your own enthusiasm through the naive or cynical views of someone else. Finding joy in your work, no matter what that might be, is the not-so-secret to happiness!
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Well Miss Kittie...I agree...Love what you do...but what if what you do doesnt match what you think, believe or say?...Maybe happiness is when everything you think, say and do are in agreement...working in harmony...I think I might have the thinking and saying part down but I'm still working on the doing! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen you're not in line with what you believe, it makes life difficult and often you're unhappy! So many people live their entire lives this way. We spend much of our life working. Finding a way to make our existing job fun is a step in the right direction. Appreciating it for the money it brings or the people you work with or the skills you're learning reframes your day, makes it easier and more fun. America is in a transitional state right now. So many people are out of jobs and finding ways to creatively make money. Many are turning toward something they've always wanted to do and giving it a try as their job. I know several people who have volunteered with organizations/companies they respect and admire and have gotten jobs through their volunteer work! Only YOU know what you love, what brings meaning and satisfaction to you. Try this: Make the list, start talking to people about it and make a commitment to doing 3 things each day toward making it happen. You'll be surprised where it leads you!
ReplyDeleteHappiness is all around us, but we need to sharpen our senses in order to appreciate it. There is joy in an early morning walk. Or in listening to the frothy giggle of a four-year-old. Or when you glance across a room and notice your husband's wide shoulders as he walks toward you. Or when you hear your dog's tail madly thumping against the floor, as he greets you.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how the simplest things bring us pleasure. You and your friends sipping wine in front of a fire, sharing a wildly hilarious story. Or discussing intense political views.
However, joy is not always fun. Sometimes it is painful as we try to express ourselves. But there's a great reward in just trying to communicate our feelings.
And that's the key. As long as we try to reach out to others or work toward a goal, we will discover great happiness. The joy is in the doing. Whether we are sharing a joke with a friend, baking a cake, birthing baby, combing our hair, applying lipstick, or completing the final page of our novel, we are involved the act of doing. And the effort of creating opens our heart and allows us to feel. Really feel.
That's pure joy!