Just cleaned my kitchen. It's something I often do first thing on a Saturday morning, right after an invigorating Jazzercise workout, which always gets me up and moving and feeling great. Here, Jazzercise is at 8 a.m. on Saturdays, so (barring a necessary trip to the store, which frequently happens) I'm home by 9:10 and raring to go. This morning after scrubbing the counters, I placed the soap containers artistically angled at the corner of the sink and for the first time actually noticed what one said: "Ultra Concentrated Joy."
What wouldn't we give to feel ultra concentrated joy at any given moment? When it hit me, I laughed a bit. What if it were as easy as pouring a yellow liquid out of a bottle to feel ultra concentrated joy? I like that idea.
We can't just pour it out of a bottle, but it seems to me that there are two ways of finding joy. Either we go through life, doing our "thing"...working, driving, cooking, sleeping, exercise, and everything else...and sometimes have a few moments of joy come over us, or we take action. I prefer the latter. It's simple. While I was scrubbing the countertops, I thought about the strength in my hands and how my experience made me efficient and the job satisfying. Joy. Looking to the sky, I saw five ducks (they looked like canvasbacks but I'm not positive) fly by, toward the marshes to the east...very nice. Since I love coffee, I made a delicious cup and sat down to enjoy it...the warmth and smooth aroma filled me with joy.
There are things some people hate which I look forward to for that bit of joy. When I do laundry, I always pull it out of the dryer while it's warm and fold each piece one by one, breathing in the fresh scent and enjoying the soft fabrics. Joy. Last week, raking leaves, the sun was warm on my face and as I breathed the fresh fall air in deeply, it filled me with joy. I didn't want to come inside.
You get the picture. Of course like everyone else, I get caught up in the day, annoyed by problems (or "challenges" as some might say) so I still have a long way to go before I could say my life is filled with "ultra concentrated joy," but I'm taking an active part in recognizing the joy that's all around me--and I'm happier!
Have a comment? Advice? Random observation? I'd love to hear it. Click "COMMENTS" just below.
Mine soap says Green Works - hmmm... Glad to be reading you again!
ReplyDeleteI'm really happy to be back, and so glad to have friends back with me!
ReplyDeleteAndrea,
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know about your new blog. I liked your post very much; we should always try to find a little joy wherever that may be.
Take care, and I'll be back again.
I'm really envious you can find joy in the most mundane things. Right now, I have a lot of 'yuck' happening, but I do remember to keep a daily gratitude journal so I don't become all too consumed by yuck. It helps. But, I'd love to be where you are.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!