Sunday, May 2, 2010

What is the measure of your joy...

*


What is the measure
of your joy...




I found a card I had collaged
with these words
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

*

26 comments:

  1. 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.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hello 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

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Steven
    it 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

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Kittie

    your 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

    ReplyDelete
  5. Delwyn

    The 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 :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. You have...so perfectly...already measured my joy, Delwyn. I would add 'Grandchildren' with a capital G!!!
    I'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♥

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Tracy
    oh yes

    books
    all the birdies
    and each new day....

    just perfect...


    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Wanda my lovely friend

    My 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

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a beautiful tribue to Maxfield Parrish! I have several of these posters in my house. His art is just magical to me. Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Living simply, yes. Amazing when we find that that is where the joy lay, not in more, bigger, better.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nothing 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.

    ReplyDelete
  12. the measure of your and my joy are the measure of everybody's joy. the simple yet important things in life.
    If we can remember to en-joy them fully, not let them go unnoticed and unregarded.

    ReplyDelete
  13. 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).

    ReplyDelete
  14. I 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?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Fantastic Parrish illustrations. I had not seen most of them before.

    Yes, 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.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi dan

    I 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

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Larry
    I 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

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Bee

    ah 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

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi friko

    while 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

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Bonnie

    birds of a feather I think Bonnie...less matters more to me now...

    Happy days

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hello Ellen

    I 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

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Marion

    you 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.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Jingle

    May joy to you too...

    happy days

    ReplyDelete
  24. I'm of one opinion with you and Wanda. Simple pleasures and a Friend to share them with - that is joy.

    ReplyDelete
  25. My joy is to be alive and well - everything else flows from that.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.