The Month of Hearts

I welcome this month of hearts.  First and foremost my own which seems to be pumping along the way it is supposed to. *smile*

Secondly the whole symbol that the heart shape means to me. It means love and friendship and caring and beauty.

I wish for each of you a heart happy month filled with love, and joy -- fun and laughter.

As you can see my hands and heart have drifted back to punch needle! A perfectly quiet way to fill these cold winter afternoons.

"Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eys, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts." - Paramahansa Yogananda

Seeking Joy

I have so much joy to be thankful for.  Rising above myself and the 'every day 'stuff' I hope to soar.  Perhaps I can hitch a ride on a kite?  

I want to seek joy wherever it might be found, but especially in 'the small stuff'.   I want to accept each moment and all of my own foibles with joy and a smile.

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile is the source of your joy." - Thich Nhat Hanh

Winter Time

Almost to Spring... 

Such a strange Winter this has been.  More 'conflicted' days than 'contented' days. Even my body has felt it, as I've dealt with aches and pains more often than I usually have to.

As I write this, the sun is shining and its above freezing outside.  Perhaps I'm getting a glimpse of the Spring to come.  Perhaps my life will be filled with light instead of darkness as we greet the coming months.  

I suspect that at this time in history I need to make my own bits and pieces of joy and imagination.   I must live in the moment and make each of those small moments count.  
Spring is coming...

"Time, time, time

See what's become of me

While I looked around for my possibilities

I was so hard to please

But look around, leaves are brown

And the sky is a hazy shade of winter..."

Simon and Garfunkle

"Memory Keeper"

Isn't he marvelous???  I first saw him in a post on Daryle Cook's site Woodstown Whimsies last November.  Of course I fell in love with him and wondered at Daryle's incredible talent and imagination.

Recently Daryle has opened a gallery where he is selling some of his 'whimseys'.  The first one that came up was - yes you guessed it - "Memory Keeper"!  Hmm, my birthday was in December but passed quietly -- didn't I deserve a gift - after all this was one of those 'big' birthdays?  

Its difficult to see in these pictures but the center heart is an open area where I can drop memories inside the main box.  

Mr. Memory Keeper is now hanging on a wall in our house - where I can look at him each day.  He reminds me that memories and their love are always with us, he inspires me because of the talent and creativity that it took to put him together.  Best of all -- he makes me smile!

"Keep all special thoughts and memories for lifetimes to come.  Share these keepsakes with others to inspire hope and build from the past, which can bridge to the future." - Mattie Stepanek 

A Core of Joy

What is this gift I've been given?  What is this thing that resides within my heart and fills me to the brim?  Its JOY and there is no other word for it.  I'm not sure where it comes from and I'm never sure where it will take me.  I'm not even sure if it will be with me tomorrow or the next day or the next day.  But while its here -- I intend to enJOY it as much as possible.  I will savor it to its fullest and to be ever so very grateful that it has chosen me in which to rest.

"The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun." - Christopher McCandless

The Joy Challenge

I'm a happy person!  There I said it! 
 

"I Love Lucy"

I think that it is not very popular to be joyful these days. We are bombarded with bad news - catastrophes, governmental shenanigans, bad behavior on the front page of the newspaper, everyday frustrations.  What has happened to us?  When did life become such a 'survivor' sport?

"Laverne and Shirley"

Our motion pictures, magazine racks and television series are filled with violence, disaster, drugs, alcohol and sex.  Even those that are purported to be comedies have a theme of trying to combine all  'seven deadly sins' into one 90 minute program.

"Laurel and Hardy"

 As I've gotten older I'm quite aware of how insignificant each day is, in the scheme of things.  Of how small my little presence is in this great and wonderful universe.  And so, why not celebrate each day, instead of thinking of it as something to be 'gotten' through? 

So here's to fun! Here's to laughter and joy and happiness.  Here's to greeting the rising sun each day with gratitude and peace in my heart.

"Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world.  We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy." - Joseph Campbell