Finding fun and joy in life

As I think on fun and joy, I am finding that I am starting to believe that to really experience then in my life, I must be present in my life. By that I mean that I need to slow down and see what is around me and enjoy where I am; physically, mentally, and emotionally. I often find myself somewhere and I am planning the next trip while on the current one or planning the next thing while working on something. So, I am only partly there, not really seeing how what I am doing is feeling. Not thinking of what the activity is making me feel, think, or believe. So my new goal is to try and truly do what I am doing and give my attention to it. We will see how that goes!

This past week or so, I have been going through over 30,000 pictures. It was a lot of fun and I so many fond memories! It also had times that I got frustrated, but I am so glad I did it.  Laughter and fun  special times  Birthdays  Christmases  and the fun then Halloweens and parties and the crazy costumes  big and small furry friends  winter fun  and summer fun  springs out side and falls relaxing and of course travel. The above are just a very few of the pictures that brought me smiles when going through the massive file I had on my computer. They are not the best or favorites, but the ones that came to me fast as I was doing this blog. They and many more helped me to remember so much fun and joy that I have experience so far. I am looking forward to the new ones I can enjoy that will be coming up yet!

I have been working on being kinder to all in my thoughts and in my actions. This is part of the 30 day kindness challenge I am taking part in with a group my cousin set up. I have been trying to pay attention when someone does something for me and to be sure and thank them. Also I have been working on having more positive thoughts and saying more positive things to people. Also trying to pay attention to my moods and if I find myself getting negative or down, then I am working on changing that so I am feeling better. I have been working at going through somethings I have brought when we moved here deciding what things I might really want and what things re just taking up space. I go through most of my craft stuff and have two boxes of stuff. I am not sure just what I will do with it all yet, which is part of the reason I think I put off going through it so long. I have also given myself permission to fall into some books as of lately. I really enjoy reading. I love to immerce myself i...

My cousin invited me to do a 30 day kindness project with a group she started. Today is the first day. I listened to the video and decided who I was doing it for. I am especially focusing on my oldest son's wife as she and I have had several misunderstandings over the years and I truly have never meant to hurt her, but she has been hurt at times nevertheless. I have always thought of myself as a kind person, but in listening to the first video and thinking about it I realize that I have more work to do to be a kind person in thought, word, and deed. I took the assessment on the website and tried to answer them as honestly as I could. It turns out by doing that I come up somewhere in the middle of the group on kindness. I have a just do it type of personality and sometimes I guess I don't think of the people involved as much as the project and getting things done. Also I know I need work on not being negative in words or thoughts. Often I will try to not show my negative feeling...

As I talk with Dale on this trip, done reading on joy, done research happiness, and thought over what I have heard, read, and talk about; I am beginning to think that happiness is not one thing. It is a set of things all wrapped up and how I react to it. It is more than a feeling or event. It is not adrenaline or doing something out of the ordinary. For me I need to relax and look at the now. I am going to be doing a mini grateful diary here several times a week. I will pick one thing I am grateful for and explore it then think about it and how my life is blessed for having it. I am going to record all of those thoughts so I can have them here to look at if I come to a down day. I am going to try and be more present in my here and now, not being upset over something in the past I can not change or stressing over something that might happen. I will do my best to arrange my life so I have prepare adequately for the future, but not wasted my present on worrying about it or the past. Joy c...

At times I get down as I feel most people do. How do I handle that, you ask?  I am finding several ways to do this. After talking with my best friend, my husband, I have decided a few things. First I have found, for me, that just writing it down here in this blog helps me. It is a way I let it out and face the things that bother me. Also it helps me look at the things I write and think on them concisely. To really think on things and feelings, helps me to deal with them and be conscious of them. I can not deal with the negative until I admit it is a problem and face it. I can then work on resolving my feeling and hopeful put it in the past, where it happened and belongs.  I have been trying to work on remembering that the past is the past and can not be changed, so wishing it was different is not going to help me now. I am trying to face these negative events/feeling and work on releasing them. I will probably never forget them, but I am going to work on letting them go, as ...

After the last post, I want to state that I just  needed to write those feelings down so I could  acknowledge the some of the problems and start to let them go. If you don't accept that there is a problem, how can you fix it. Writing them down helped me to see that I am letting the past (in some instance, the distant past) put a damper on my today and possibly my tomorrows. I do not want to do that! So I am working on letting them go and concentrating on finding joys now. I have been to two showers this week, one a bridal and the other a baby shower for twins. Here is joy: Smiles, laughter, and good friends!

Today, I am looking at what has been haunting me for year, worry and should. As I start this I want to say, I am writing about are the things that I believe let me to doing what I thought other felt I should, worrying about other and what they thought of me, and led me to try to be the perfect daughter, wife, mother, and person. Which i think lead me to where I feel I have lost the fun of life and my joy. There were a lot of good times, but these are the times that lead me to not know me and what I want. This is turning into a sad novel, so don't feel the need to read this, it is more a place for me to get these sad things that have been held inside out of my system once and for all, I hope. For as long as I can remember, I have worried about things and people. We moved a lot when I was very young and in grade school. When I was a child I worried if my dad would come back; if he did would he be drunk and hurt one of us? Would my mom have the money to buy what we needed; rent food...

I have had a couple of days to think on the purpose of this blog. I among thinking that there are many degrees of happiness and joy. There is the sweet joy I experienced attending a bridal shower for one of my best friends daughters last evening. The bride to be just glowed and to see her so bubbly and smiley brought a warm glow to my soul. Also my best friend was also just so smiling and radiant. The happiness in that event was so special. There was the happiness of a belated birthday wish from one of my aunts. It reminded me how lucky I am to have two aunts (86 and 87) still only a phone call away. I have my mom who I talk to or text nearly every day (she is 84) and my uncle who is so active with his beautiful wife (both in there mid 70's). I have no-one of the generation above me on the other side of my family, but I have these totally caring people (my mom and her siblings) still here to visit with! My daughter-in-law, son, and their kids are decluttering their life and down...

This is a banner year for me, I guess. I have just turned 60. That still seems strange as I don't feel like I alway thought I would feel when I was getting "old". In my mind I still am young like in my twenties and thirties, but the mirror show something a little different. I am working on many things such as a healthier lifestyle, and traveling. Both of which I address in a couple of my other blogs.  For quite a while now, I have felt like I have lost the wonder of living. You know that joy for life, feeling like you still know how to have fun. I think without that I will truly become old. I have pondered on how to find it again, for yes, it did have it once. I used to try a lot of new things, loved people and being around them, people seemed to want to be around me, life held wonder and adventure. I seem to have forgotten how to do  that and how to have some of those feelings. Don't get me wrong, I am not seriously depressed, but I am not excited for the next thing ...