WHERE IS THE JOY

Sometimes we work
so hard
we feel exhausted.

How many times
have I heard
or even said
I need a nap.

Sometimes we are so busy
we think we are tired
but perhaps we should be asking
where is the joy

Where is the time
in the midst of it all
that we stop and
do something which energizes us,
and brings us joy.

In the midst of
the busyness
may we remember
what brings us joy,
what energizes us
what makes us feel
as if we have napped.

Twinkle, twinkle little star
how I wondered what you were
when I was young and did not know
and experienced all of life
for the first time and
everything was new.

Today I wonder with my students
and the young people in my life
who are discovering life and
sharing their wonder with me
and reminding me to see
the wonder in all things new.

I may no longer wonder about the stars
but I can appreciate the joy and mystery
of those who are discovering
things for the first time,
just as my elders are discovering
with me
the mysteries revealing themselves
in this stage of my journey.

AN APPLE A DAY

An apple a day, they say,
keeps the doctor away.
That is fine and great,
but what about the non medical struggles
An acquaintance of mine used to say,
a good heart
keeps away the farts.
Those people who smell
up your life

My gratitude journal
keeps me humble.
My inspiration journal
keeps me open.
My intention journal
keeps me focused.
My joy journal
keeps me balanced
My writing
keeps me growing

What are the apples
in your life?
Is your heart
keeping away the farts?
What do you practice
to keep you healthy?

EMPATHY

When I think of
Empathy
I tend to think of
empathizing
with another person’s sorrow,
disappointment, and
pain.
I think of tasting the salt
in someone else’s tears

Empathy is
about oneness between us.
It means I can feel with you
and be in oneness with you
in good times and bad
I can taste the sweetness
in your joy as well as
the salt in your tears.

Empathy is
about me journeying with you
and thinking about when I was
in that place or situation
and how it felt.

Empathy is
about the intimacy between us
and between us and the Divine
which connect us.
it is about knowing
someone is with us
in good times and bad

Empathy is
about sharing
about caring
about being intimate

about allowing the Divine in me

to connect with the Divine in you.

Empathy is
about us connecting
as one
in good times and bad
because we care
and know we are
both images of the Divine.

RELEASE AND FIND

Winners and losers,
conquerors and conquered,
these ways of thinking
are about celebration and sorrow.
They are about
hatred and suffering.
They leave one feeling
glorious or gutted.

What if we released
our attachment to the outcome.
What if instead of
winning or losing,
we sought joy.
Joy in the experience,
joy in the outcome
joy in just the opportunity
to be in the moment

SIMPLE THINGS

Sometimes it is the simple things in life
that bring us joy.
like the smell of freshly mowed grass,
or waking up to a pot of freshly brewed coffee,
or when a friend surprises me with one of my favorite treats
or when I get a paratransit reservation

it is not just the big things that bring us joy;
it’s also the simple things.
It’s the smells, sounds, tastes, textures, and experiences
which put a smile in our hearts and souls.

It’s the little things which bring us joy.
So today focus on doing something simple for yourself
and others
and do something simple
to bring joy in to your life and theirs.

SONG OF THE WEEK

I love this week's song of the week because it reminds me how little we understand about what it means to be human and how much we have in common with people around the world https://youtu.be/DM8Tm9ycGz4

MENDING

I have to begin by owning my mistakes.
I cannot mend,
what I cannot own.
I cannot fix,
what I do not admit I damaged.

Mending the world
begins with me.
If I am living at peace in my soul
then my home is
When my relationship is joyous,
we share that with the world
When we share our joy
we make our community better,
which makes our region better,
which makes our state better
which makes our country better
which makes the world better.

My being mindful about mending
that which I need to mend
is about me making this world a better place.
it is about me helping to mend
the world.

What if each day we fixed our mistakes
before we went to bed.
What if we fixed things
as they happened,
instead of letting them build.
What if we focused on
mending
our lives,
and the world

SMILING

Smiling

Have you ever watched someone smile,
but it does not feel
like joy, peace, or happiness.
Sometimes you can watch them smile,
but it feels sarcastic.
Sometimes their smile reminds
you of how politicians and diplomats
smile at each other.
Sometimes their smile makes you want to leave
and avoid them .

Then there are those smiles
that brighten up a room.
There is something about their smile which is like
a breath of fresh air.
It may leave you feeling hope
fill you with their overflowing joy
make you share their happiness
or experience their piece

A smile is not just a smile.
It is a way of communicating
what is in our heart,
soul,
and mind.
It is how we share
the one who lives within us
and who wants others
to experience the love and warmth
all through a simple, but genuine
smile.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What brings you joy?

CELEBRATE YOURSELF

"I celebrate myself,"
The poet Walt Whitman wrote.
Are you celebrating yourself?
What if you celebrated
all of you,
your achievements,
your experiences, and
your existence.

How would you look at yourself
if you were celebrating
all of who you are?

Would you be saying
I am God’s beloved
I know God is pleased with me
Would you know you are good?
Would you stand in front of yourself and say
“I celebrate myself.”

I IS FOR INFUSION WATER BOTTLE

It has been a crazy week with grades from the Fall Semester due this week and personally I was screaming for vegan ice cream. However, when I could finally sit down to write I found that I was less interested in writing about any of our ice cream products or even our Indoor Outdoor Portable Grill. Rather my friends and I kept talking about our Infusion Water Bottle. So I is for Infusion Water Bottle

One of the things that I love about this bottle is that regardless of whether you are a person who likes to sip what they are drinking (like my wife) or chug (like me), this bottle works for everyone. The strainer, which comes with the bottle, allows you to position what you are infusing in ways that do not interfere with your drinking, whether you are a sipper or a chugger. If you are a sipper, the fruit or herbs you are infusing go below the strainer. If you are a chugger, then that which you are infusing goes above the strainer.  The idea is that regardless of how you choose to drink your beverages, this water bottle works for you.

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SONG OF THE WEEK

This time of year many may find the words of this song remind them where their joy comes from. However, I would remind us that joy is internal. It comes from your relationship with your Higher Power, however you define that. Do not let anyone steal your joy! https://youtu.be/vsB_DbUJUTI

STAY FULL

I love how children
find such wonder in
opening a present
a new toy
or discovering the
mysteries of life

Then they grow up
and we teach them
how to lose that sense of
wonder,
creativity,
joy, or
mystery

We, as adults
need to stay full of
wonder,
joy, and mystery
so we can help our
children stay full
keep their sense of wonder,
joy,
and mystery.
Together, we can share
and rediscover the
world in which
we live.

BECOMING THE TREE

Dear God,

I know you never put more on us then we can bear, but this year has been filled with challenges. If I had to pick a word for that I have learned this year, it would be tenacity. I have learned to have the determination to rise about difficult circumstances. It does not mean it has been easy, but I am making myself rise. I am finding the strength within myself to keep on going.

There have been days when I felt so deeply and did see my own strength, but I would remember to release the fears that were obscuring my vision. You found your way of reminding me to be like the Tree of Heaven, the tree Betty Smith wrote about in her novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. She wrote, “Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first time or last time. Then your time on Earth will be filled with joy.”

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BOOK OF LAW

I have been thinking a lot about unity this week and when I feel in sync with myself and others and when I do not. What I have come to realize is that I do not feel in sync with myself when I am doing something that goes against my internal Book of Law. I have come to realize that sometimes it is because I am doing something that I know is not the right thing for me. I am doing something because I feel pressured to do so. For example, recently a client asked me to do something which went against my Book of Law. As much as I always like to support my clients, this request made me feel very uncomfortable and I realized in this situation there could be no unity. I came to the realization that being in unity with you is more important to me than being in unity with another human being, especially when it feels like they are not coming from a space of love.
As much as I would love to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, as the old Coca Cola song said, I have come to realize that I can only sing in perfect harmony with those who also want to raise the vibrational frequency in this world. If they are not seeking to do so, then I have to rethink our relationship and find a different way of standing in unity with them. That unity might be in agreeing we are not working towards the same goal.
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YUP YUP YUP

I am always amazed at how Spirit speaks to me. As I listened to an interview with Wallis Byrd, which Zoe was listening to, I found myself laughing. Once again, Spirit was giving me inspiration in a way only Spirit could do. I have so many things on my plate, many of which I am releasing and removing, especially those which no longer give me joy. I have come to this place where I have come to realize that if I am not enjoying it, if I cannot infuse joy into it, then it is not for me to continue to do. So now I play games with my cleaning, I sing songs and dance while I am doing chores around the house. I listen to Pharrell Williams’ song Happy whenever I am having trouble laughing or smiling or feeling overwhelmed by the stress.

In the interview, Byrd talked about how she worked so hard at trying to write music that she could not write. It was not until she moved and disrupted her routine that she realized that she was the architect of her life and her music. The reality we all are. I am the architect, or as don Miguel Ruiz would say, the artist of my life. I have the power to paint my life with paths of joy, peace, love, light and positive energy or not.

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SONG OF THE WEEK

The lyrics from this week's song of the week remind us to let let joy flow into our lives and not work to keep it out

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Find some time today to laugh

APPLAUSE

A few months ago, I was invited to give my first public talk since I stopped pastoring. There are so many things about public speaking, which make me nervous. It is not that I cannot speak publicly, it was that for the longest time I took others response to my sermons or talks as an evaluation of my message. It was as if I was giving others the power to tell me when I was doing a good job and when I was not. I struggled with my response to others applause and comments, or lack thereof. I was intentionally working on moving to the place where my self-evaluation was unrelated to the evaluation of others, albeit positive or negative. There were times people would clap wildly, jump to their feet, yell out “you betta say that Pastor” or some other expression. I struggled with how much value I placed on their reaction.

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