*
What is the measure
of your joy...
I found a card I had collaged
with these words
I had found
I had found
and I mused on that question...
Today
Now
here
My joy
is measured
in terms of
the connections
with my family
and my friends
living simply
enjoying nature
reading and writing
and making images
contentment in the little things
solace in the green
the sounds
and the colours of nature
a wonder
and awe
that prevails
in my appreciation for
the beauty and the mystery
of the world
in which we live
What
is the measure
of your joy...
Artist: Maxfield Parrish
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Delwyn, Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yes, I looove kitties. But I primarily blog stories about growing up on a farm in Louisiana. My grandmother's family came to what is now the U.S. in 1679, from France. (Her hub's family in 1700.) And this is why I so loved your blog about your grandmother. My grandmother was a petite stick of dynamite who only took No for an answer when it served her purpose. She put cracks in the glass ceiling before it was fashionable. Anyway, really enjoyed your post today.
ReplyDeletehello delwyn, i love maxfield parrish and there are works here i'm unfamiliar with. a small joy for one just waking up. a much greater joy for one more awake later in the day!!! i haven't got a list as you do but i sense my fortune in the unsolicited gifts that arrive and comprise my life. that they come without condition is one of the great surprises and magics of my existence. have a lovely evening. steven
ReplyDeleteHi Steven
ReplyDeleteit was you who introduced me to Maxfield Parrish through a comment you made recently in regard to a photo I had posted of sun on the gums...so thank you for pointing me in his direction there...
and yes that is a great source of joy...all of the unexpected gifts and the many forms that they take...thank you for adding that one...
Happy days
Hi Kittie
ReplyDeleteyour grandmother sounds to be of the same ilk as mine, formidable, strong willed, bright and determined...
I have written you a little note via the email.
happy days
Delwyn
ReplyDeleteThe joy's in my life are: my family, hearing the birds sing in the morning, books and waking up everyday and learning I have a new and healthy life.
Enjoyed the post!
Best
Tracy :)
You have...so perfectly...already measured my joy, Delwyn. I would add 'Grandchildren' with a capital G!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm just so very thankful I'm content, that I can live the life I want to live and know I'm making memories that will last!
...Wanda♥
Hi Tracy
ReplyDeleteoh yes
books
all the birdies
and each new day....
just perfect...
Happy days
Hi Wanda my lovely friend
ReplyDeleteMy family is yet to include the big G, but a little birdie told me it won't be far away...less than 9 months away in fact ...but shhhhh its a secret....
I find that your gratitude for contentment is one of those blossoming feelings that I now know...the feeling that what I have is quite enough and in fact is plenty, is so edifying. Yes we can't take contentment for granted, so many people struggle to find such a feeling...
thanks for your uplifting comments...
Happy days
these are amazing joy to me,
ReplyDeleteHappy May!
What a beautiful tribue to Maxfield Parrish! I have several of these posters in my house. His art is just magical to me. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteLiving simply, yes. Amazing when we find that that is where the joy lay, not in more, bigger, better.
ReplyDeleteNothing to add dear Delwyn - you have pretty much gathered in all the things that bring me joy too. All the sweet, simple things that really matter.
ReplyDeletethe measure of your and my joy are the measure of everybody's joy. the simple yet important things in life.
ReplyDeleteIf we can remember to en-joy them fully, not let them go unnoticed and unregarded.
Your list is perfect -- and complete unto itself, I think. I would just add a warm chocolate chip cookie and a cup of tea (partly, because I have just been snacking on them -- and they were so delightful).
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy Parrish's work. I also think your words are wonderful. As I have retired and am evaluating life from here on out, I do think about what is my measure of joy?
ReplyDeleteFantastic Parrish illustrations. I had not seen most of them before.
ReplyDeleteYes, the simple things. I tripped on the idea of measuring joy. From my viewpoint, joy is immeasurable, though variable in intensity.
For me, I feel joy, often quite intensely, while teaching kindergarten while ensuring everyone's safety, happiness, and kindness, usually outdoors.
I disappear to myself and am absorbed just monitoring the welfare of the group. I dissolve away from myself into an immeasurable joyous state.
Hi dan
ReplyDeleteI liked Parrish too. I has seen the odd one and Steven made a comment recently that made me investigate then further.
I agree with you about quantifying joy. I read the question as to say what are the things that provide you with joy...how do you gain joy...what is the measure of your joy ...for example family gives me a great deal of sustainable joy; surprises in nature give me bursts of joy; focusing on a project of creation gives me a prolonged joy of absorption...feeling lost in a meditative state brings a pervasive and lingering joy that overflows into my daily life, and so on...
I can tell that you derive a great deal of sustaining joy from your work with children.
Happy days
Hi Larry
ReplyDeleteI think that it is common at this stage in our lives to take stock and now that we have a greater freedom we can choose to be involved in those things that bring us joy and where possible eliminate the others. It is a great time of life where we can feel rather self indulgent for once...
happy days
Hi Bee
ReplyDeleteah yes I do derive joy from preparing a meal and savouring it...or a coffee, or a little wine and brie...or an earl grey tea and hazelnut choc chip biscuit which I am enjoying right now...
thanks for the add on
Happy days
Hi friko
ReplyDeletewhile there are many people like you and I who measure joy in these terms I do think there may be others who gain joy from sports or performing, or socialising, or maybe they are epicureans, or politics turns them on....there are lots of other available sources of joy...that may be nourishing in their own ways.
But like you I am happy to stick with the simple little things...
Happy days
Hi Bonnie
ReplyDeletebirds of a feather I think Bonnie...less matters more to me now...
Happy days
Hello Ellen
ReplyDeleteI agree
'tis not the bigger the better
nor found in the future
or in an acquisition
but in the ordinary moments of life
Happy days
Hi Marion
ReplyDeleteyou must be inspired walking about your home, by Maxfield's paintings...
I loved the top exultation and the musing ones as much as the landscapes
so art can bring us great joy...
Happy days.
Hi Jingle
ReplyDeleteMay joy to you too...
happy days
I'm of one opinion with you and Wanda. Simple pleasures and a Friend to share them with - that is joy.
ReplyDeleteMy joy is to be alive and well - everything else flows from that.
ReplyDelete