Life is a series of moments. It truly is the moments that will matter at the end of our lives. The moments when we loved others and were loved by others, the moments that bring smiles to our faces, the moments when our mouths are delighting in ♥ JOY ♥ from eating a delicious meal, the moments watching your child sleep, the moments when you read or see something that makes your heart lift… all of those moments matter.
Remember to make the moments matter and count the moments that matter.
This is a picture I made with my Christmas tree in the background. I love looking at the Christmas tree and thinking about all of the Love that has surrounded it over the years. Of course, each ornament has significance and makes the tree even more special because of them.
I sometimes just sit and think about many people’s Christmas trees and how they display a lifetime of stages and memories. As I gaze at my own tree, which is right beside me now, I see ornaments given to me by my mother who passed in 1993. I see a few “Baby’s First Christmas”. I see handmade ornaments by my daughter. I see ornaments made each year for Sivanna, my daughter, by her Grandmother by Heart, Joyce. I see many ornaments with special memories….. too many to list.
But what I see most of all, is LOVE. The warmth and glow of the tree and the fire reminds me of that inner and outer glow of Love. We gather in Love, we celebrate in Love and we Rejoice in Love.
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
Every year I host Christmas Eve at my house and this year was spectacular! Everyone had fun and there were smiles and Love all around. I know why though. I know the secret to why it was so wonderful and why it gets better every year…. it’s because we are appreciating it and each other more and more every year and it just makes it more enriched each and every year.
One of my most favorite things to see is the tradition being instilled in my daughter. As we prepare for the occasion she automatically knows to get out the serving platter for the turkey, our special cutting board given to us by Baba, aka Big Audrey (because there is a little Audrey), the fine china and to tidy the bathroom and whatever else we need to do. At these times I smile with my heart and it swells in the knowing that she will one day be fondly sharing memories of times past and of how much Love and JOY were in them. And the she too will be hosting the next generation with Love in her heart too!
Here I am in my kitchen with ‘the cutting’ board and my Santa apron given to me also by Baba one yearl
When I am long gone from this world, I would want anyone reading this who knows and loves me and has been a part of these glorious occasions to know how much I Love putting these on and preparing the food with Love for all of you to enJOY. My eyes are leaking as I type this and I am grateful that I can write things like this to express my feelings of JOY and APPRECIATION. I am also grateful for all of you in my life who Love me and show me all the time. I love you all!
Merry Christmas and may you always celebrate with JOY in your heart!
To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you are.
Anonymous
I am so trying to be more compassionate with myself. What about you? Are you able to enJOY the version of you right now? Or do you struggle with longing for a former version of yourself or a future version of you?
What if we just stopped this madness and got ok with us right now? I was chatting with my hair dresser the other day and was mentioning that I had gained weight and she had mentioned she had lost some. I shared with her how I was deciding to be okay with the fact that I had gained weight because I know that at the end of my life I will absolutely think that I wish I hadn’t wasted so much of my life worrying or beating myself up. I am sure I would wish I had used those precious moments of life to be happy rather than having negative feelings about myself. She agreed. 🙂
And we all go through these things. We gain, we lose, we change habits, we fall off of our tracks, we get back on, etc. etc. This applies to anything in our life. Healthy habits, positive thinking, working out, being kind to ourselves or not….. the cycle just continues…. We all go up and down in these cycles but really we are always just doing the best we can at the time we are doing it.
What if we just STOPPED? Stopped the madness of judging ourselves and others and turned to JOY and acceptance? What is we turned to Compassion and Kindness for self and others?
WOW, I think it would make a huge difference. Don’t you? 🙂
I wish whoever is reading this, personal peace, self-love, kindness and most of all lots of LOVE!
With the holidays fast approaching why not start thinking about a gift that you would like to give yourself this holiday season? I bet you are already thinking or have already gotten gifts for other people in your life. I bet you are super kind to others and are always thinking of them and how to make their lives happier, better, and more enJOYable. But what about you? What about a gift for you?
And the gift I am talking about for you needs no wrapping paper, is environmentally friendly, and when you receive and use the gift you give yourself, it helps you and the entire world! Now how is that for an awesome gift? 🙂
What is the Gift? It’s the gift of whatever you need to give yourself to release any emotional pain that you have. Maybe it’s the gift of compassion or the gift of forgiveness or the gift of don’t be too hard on yourself. Whatever it is, it is important that you give yourself the gift and that you receive it with open and loving arms. And by giving to yourself, you have more to give. As the saying goes “fill up your own cup first”. 🙂
I hope you take up my suggestion and that you carry your gift in your heart every day moving forward in your life. Life is meant to be JOYous and sometimes we are the very ones who block our channel for JOY by beating ourselves up or by not forgiving ourselves or whatever else we do that continues the cycle of personal pain.
May your heart be light, your holiday JOYous, and always remember some of the best gifts don’t come under the tree. 🙂
“The first to forget is the happiest”… WOW!
I saw this picture quote on Facebook this morning and it rocked my world. It made me reflect on these statements.
Am I good at apologizing? Am I good at forgiving? How about forgetting?
I won’t share with you all of my thoughts around this, but I will tell you that this post has inspired me to look at all of these in my own life.
I think my favorite is indeed the last one. Over the years, I have gotten better at forgetting. I am at a place that I really don’t care about yesterday. I care about right now and what I am creating in my life now and what I will enJOY tomorrow.
I often say… if something hurt me in the past already, why oh why would I ever let it hurt me again today, in the Now? No way! I’m not giving up the beauty of today because it’s being robbed from me by yesterday or yesteryear. I have control over how I let yesterday or thoughts of yesterday affect me today.
Full speed ahead. In JOY and LOVE. And I will work more on those first two points too! I want freedom and I want JOY in my life. What about YOU?
To me JOY, which is said to be a vibration higher than even LOVE ❤ , is LOVE ❤ expressing itself. That is how I see JOY. It is also why I strive for more JOY in my life every day!
When I think of young children singing, dancing, giggling, and being silly, I think of JOY.
When I think of a proud parent, I think of JOY expressing itself.
When I think of a couple newly in LOVE, ❤ I think of JOY.
When I think of a couple anticipating the birth of their child, a new life, I think of JOY.
When I think of a hot cup of tea, I think of JOY.
When I think of FREEDOM, I think of JOY.
JOY is amazing. JOY has the power to open our hearts and expand our LOVE. ❤ And I LOVE ❤ that because we are LOVE. ❤ We were born in and from LOVE ❤ and we will return to LOVE. ❤
JOY also enhances our immune system, stimulates our creativity and has a positive impact on everyone around us and the world. JOY is an emotion that can transform fear also. JOY can free one from their own pain and suffering. JOY can help FREE oneself from limiting beliefs and ideals. When you strive for JOY you can never go wrong.
Find JOY in the simple things. Seek JOY and it will find you.
I have written many helpful posts about JOY and you can access them here:
You might also enJOY my FREE E-book on Finding JOY
Having a cup of JOY tea at my sister’s house. I love it! JOY. JOY. JOY! 🙂
Looking forward to a beautiful weekend here in the big city of Toronto!
Stay tuned.
Have a great weekend everyone!
I love this quote. It is so simple and true. When we experience JOY we immediately feel gratitude. They go hand in hand.
This is another reason why I am always encouraging others to find JOY, to seek JOY, to be JOY.
The more JOY, the more gratitude and like attracts like so go for more!
JOY
This morning I walked into the kitchen and saw my Turkey platter in the dish rack and the sun shining behind it. How beautiful. I reflected upon the lovely Thanksgiving dinner we had here yesterday. It is my favorite meal and occasion to prepare for.
Every holiday that we have turkey, I bring out this platter. I love using our special dishes and such to make the occasion even more festive and enJOYable. My sister-in-law loved this platter so much, I also found one for her 🙂 I love thrift shopping as many of you know. So much JOY!
We make so many happy memories at these get togethers and it is just so good to spend time together and to appreciate each other and to honor who we are and where we came from… that is family. Not everyone makes every holiday but that is okay, we celebrate and enJOY with whoever is able to attend. And sometimes most of us are there. I am so grateful to still have all my siblings here on earth.
As with most families we get some traditions happening. Big Audrey (because there is a little Audrey) or Baba as we call her, always carves the turkey. She is in her 80’s and still gets up there and does this. We all love it. Baba always brings me a useful gift even though I tell her she need not bring anything. One year it was an amazing turkey cutting board with spikes to hold the turkey and a little run way for the juices. Awesome. We now use it on every turkey occasion. Bubba and I both like to thrift shop hee hee. We have many happy discussions around this and often bump into each other our favorite stores. It makes me smile every time. 🙂 🙂 🙂
This year Baba brought an apron to wear and to leave for me when finished. Perfect! One can never have enough aprons, especially with many hands helping in the kitchen. 🙂
With the cooler temperature at this time of year, it makes it even cozier and warming. We even had snow on the ground yesterday. 🙂
Our meal was wonderful of course. We had many laughs, smiles and JOYS. We listened to Uncle John tell his many jokes and I could tell that each one of us appreciated them more than ever. We all know that life is a cycle and what we have now, we will not always, so everything is more enhanced and appreciated.
I am grateful that my family, like myself, gets more and more appreciative of moments like this. In fact, these moments are sacred to me (tears streaming down my face as I type this). I watch and observe that as we get older it means more and I watch and know that my daughter and the youth will one day cherish these times more than any other. These will be the memories that stand out for them.
At the end of the evening, Don, Bubba and myself chatted about how these ARE the most important things in life. There is nothing better than being together at times like this, sharing food, laughter, and memories, with people who are comfortable to share of themselves… to tease, to laugh and to most of all LOVE.
One of the reasons I blog is so that I can share my feelings but also to record these moments for future enJOYment for my offspring and for whoever happens upon them. I hope they will be inspired and will use my sharing and writing to inspire them to have more JOY in their life and to spread more JOY in the world. It always starts around your own kitchen table first. 🙂
Who doesn’t want more JOY in their life? How about in your work? I struggle with the word ‘work’ and I think I know why…..
It’s because of a secret. The sooner one understands and learns this secret, the sooner JOY unfolds. What is this secret? The secret is that once you discover what you are passionate about and you pursue that, whatever you do around that passion will infuse more JOY into your life and work and you will no longer think of your work as ‘work’. It will now be your passion and your purpose.
“The heart of human excellence often begins to beat when you discover a pursuit that absorbs, frees you, challenges you, or gives you a sense of meaning, JOY or passion.” ―Terry Orlick
terry orlick
If you are unclear as to what you are passionate about, ask someone who knows you well to share with you the following:
When you are talking about a subject and your eyes literally light up and you become more animated. This may sound too simple to be true, but it is very true. As a Life Coach for many years, I have seen this exact display of passion and purpose in the eyes of many and it always is a direct hit to what a person is passionate about.
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