Something happens every now and then…it’s something I adore…
when a toddler, who can’t control his our her excitement…
goes running up and down the aisles of our store.
If you’ve ever seen a toddler run…their body shifts from side to side…
They are one move from falling over…and there’s a smile they can’t hide.
Yes, the entire time they’re toddler running…between the counter and bookcases
their hands are extended out for balance…and there are smiles on their faces!
And when their parents look at me…as they faithfully follow after…
we often share a smile or we join in their children’s laughter.
I was thinking about this today…as before me lay an empty street…
then I stopped in the darkness, smiled…and looked down at my fee.
Then I started running…but with two bad knees…I found my body shifting from side to side…
and even though I was one move from falling over…my smile…I couldn’t hide.
I certainly can’t run as gracefully or as fast as I did when I was a boy…
but, with my arms extended for balance…I could not hide my joy.
It seems by ability to run as decreased as my years in life accrue…
And at 71 years old…toddler running is the best that I can do.
But at 71…I also refuse to let anything like bad knees stop me
from experiencing joy…or having fun…
Which means:
Whenever I have the opportunity…
I will run like toddlers run.
Today I’m, again, thankful for joy…
and the way our creators designed it
giving us the support…
the talent
the strength
and the fortitude to find it…
How, when sorrow enters our life
no matter what appeals or prayers we employ
We can,
with the help of time
and family
and friends
find a way
to welcome back our joy
I learned a little about joy…
on our main street…of all places…
as a group of children were singing Christmas carols and dancing…
The joy was on their faces.
We stopped and listened to them sing…Joy To The World was the song…
and as they sang and danced…they encouraged us to sing along.
They were not professionals…that was easy to hear and see…
They bumped into each other when they danced and they often sang off-key.
But what I noticed as they danced and sang on the face of each girl and boy…
how bumping into one another or singing off-key…never diminished their joy.
The more we watched them sing and dance
the more their joy to the world was apparent to me…
Because…as the song continued and they continued to dance…
the more joyful they seemed to be.
And there is the lesson I learned on our main street…of all places…
as I watched a group of children sing and dance…and saw the joy upon their faces.
It’s a lesson about joy…and where our joy comes from….
A lesson about who we are…and who we can become….
It’s a lesson I forget sometimes…but one I have known all along….
How these children didn’t get their joy from….Joy To The World…
they brought their joy to…the song.
Holidays are special to us…we excitedly await them…
and when those days arrive…we love to celebrate them.
On birthdays we make wishes, open presents
after blowing out the candles on our cakes.
At Christmas we sing carols, open presents
and eat cookies that we’ve baked.
Every morning on my walk I see birds flying…
and hear them singing as I pass by…
It looks and sounds like they’re celebrating.
throwing a party in the sky.
Which makes me wonder as I listen to the joy they are creating…
What is it about every day they could be celebrating?
Birds do not have calendars…no special dates to claim…
no holidays to anticipate…yet they celebrate each day the same.
They don’t need to wait to blow out candles…
for a special day to come their way.
Every morning they celebrate…opening the gift of another day.
Celebrating every day they are alive…
Is that one of the craziest things you ever heard???
Or:
Could we all learn a little bit about joy and happiness…
by watching…
and listening
to the birds?
May we be blessed to acknowledge all the wonders in our life
that have, for us, thus far accrued…
and to begin each day with a word of thanks…
and thoughts of gratitude.
Today I’m thankful for my ability to discover joy
and all the benefits it brings.
the inherent talent to find that joy
in the simplest of things
Some days when I wake up….I have this comfort system I employ…
I list a few things…a kind of free association…that I’ve found bring me joy.
I have discovered here in North Carolina…a different location on the map
some joys are separate from those in Florida…while some joys overlap.
The stars that twinkle in the sky…the way the colors of the leaves change every day
hot chocolate on a cold night…the whistle of the train as it nears then fades away.
A visit from a deer or a turkey family…the way the sun peeks through the trees.
listening to a mountain rain…catching falling leaves as they float upon the breeze.
Mountain dogs without their leashes…watching the sun behind the mountain drop.
sitting on the porch playing cards…clouds casting shadows on the mountain tops.
Hiking up and down the mountains….watching the squirrels and foxes prance
A windy day amidst the trees as their leaves and branches dance.
Listening to the birds, the wind, the murmur of a mountain stream….
sitting in the cold, dark silence of the morning…with nothing to do but dream.
Watching nature dance her beautiful ballet with grace and elegance and style
experiencing these with family and friends…who stop in and visit for a little while
It seems whether in Florida, in North Carolina…
or anywhere I travel on the map
the joy of sharing joy with loved ones…
is a joy that will always overlap
Because the true beauty of it all…
the daily joy I receive from here upon the ground
or from the sky above….
is always made more joyful…
by sharing it
with those I love.
Today I invite you to join me on my walk with but one simple action to employ…
Add to my list…or make up your own…of things that bring you joy.
Family, children, grandchildren…the wind whistling through the trees…
When I hear my favorite song…flowers dancing in the breeze.
Looking at old photographs…a short or long road trip…
Warm cookies fresh from the oven…my favorite’s chocolate chip.
That feeling I get when I’ve finished…successfully completing a job…
Eating warm peach cobbler with ice cream on top…or corn still on the cob.
A kiss on the cheek…a long…tight…meaningful hug….
The moment I realized a butterfly was more than just a bug.
The sound rain makes on a tin roof…unfolding any map….
An unexpected phone call from a friend…any dog sitting on my lap.
It’s funny how you find when you make a list of things that bring you joy…
You fill it with things both big…and small…
And how you realize
sometimes…
those things that bring you joy…
aren’t really things…at all.
I love all the joys life offers….as each day passes by…
and how, when it comes to joy…I don’t have to know the reasons why.
Why does my heart beat faster…why is it difficult to put into words…
the joy I feel watching a baby elephant…on the savannah…chasing birds?
Why do I love sitting in silence…watching the wind tickle a field of grain…
Why do I smile with my arms outstretched while dancing in the rain?
Why am I filled with wonder when I see a picture of a baby in the womb…
Why am I so excited watching a butterfly or a bee drifting from bloom to bloom?
Why do I smile…listening to nature sing…as through the forest I stroll?
Why does the melody of a babbling brook have the power to soothe my soul?
Why is the feeling a waterfall evokes…or the stars…or watching clouds float by…
enough to cause me to stop…to create in me…a smile…or a sigh?
Why does the sight of the sun slowly climbing a mountain in the morning cause me as much delight…as watching the moon climb that same mountain as she ushers in the night?
I hope I never discover the reasons…
hope I never find the words…
to explain why I can find so much joy
watching a baby elephant chasing birds.
I find one way to lift my spirits when the news of the day makes me cry…
Is to find a comfortable spot where I can sit and watch people walking by.
It doesn’t seem to matter …the time of day…the place…
watching people walking by always puts a smile on my face.
I never know who’ll walk by…which means I’m often in for a surprise.
There’s a couple smiling at one another…I see love reflected in their eyes.
As I look around from where I’m sitting…my field of vision expands…
There’s an older couple walking arm in arm…
there’s a young couple holding hands.
There’s a family bunched together…with three little ones in tow…
and I smile thinking how that was Deborah and I…not so long ago.
I see a baby sleeping in her mothers arms…safe and warm and snug…
I see friends meeting up with other friends…they smile…wave…and hug.
I’m always amazed at this phenomenon…I mean why is it so often that…
a hug begins with a squeeze…and ends up with a pat.
I see strangers helping strangers…I see this ever day…
with only a smile and a thank you exchanged before they go their separate ways.
These are but a few examples I’ve pulled off of my shelf…
but don’t take my word for it…
go watch some people for yourself.
Yes, if you want your spirits lifted…
go out and watch people walking by…
You’ll witness so much joy and happiness…
why…it just might make you cry.