Joy!

Monday, August 22, 2006

I spend so much time as a news junkie...watching, reading, writing and pondering. I often need to give myself a break and reflect on the GOOD things in my life. In that spirit, I have decided to devote today's BLOG to things that bring me joy.

First and foremost...spending time with my family. This was not always the case but I find that, as we grow older, the importance of family gains a greater spot in the hierarchy of my life and that my perspective has been vastly changed. I suspect that many factors have led to this new found realization, not the least of which has been my self discovery and my family's acceptance of what I discovered. This has increased our comfort level with each other and we are able to see the bigger picture and not get lost in the less important details.

I have found that working in my garden is a joyful event. I relish the observation of the growing process and marvel at the diversity of plant life one can grow. I enjoy both flower and vegetable gardening and find that ornamental gardening of all sorts appeals to my aesthetic appreciation.
Watching flowers bloom, new shrubs take root, and vegetables mature gives one a certain perspective on what it means to be alive.

Travel is a passion, although I have had to curtail that passion due to limiting factors. But, I will never lose the delight I feel in exploring new places. I even enjoy the feeling one gets when driving long distances in a car. The realization that movement along vast distances can change your spatial and temporal understanding of the universe is profound and often gives me the ability to "jump out of time and space". There is something akin to an ecstatic or mystical experience that happens in those moments. It's as though you were getting a glimpse of reality undiluted.

Hearing live music is another passion I have had to limit due to the same factors that have limited my desire to travel. Again, there is something highly liberating about absorbing the energies released by musicians when they ply their arts. I would speculate that it is actually physical in many respects and that it can open windows and doors to the world that otherwise might remain closed.

I am optimistic that this hiatus from travel and music is merely temporary and that I will, once again, have the pleasure of imbibing both. Often other priorities arise and one must give them their due.

Lastly, I will mention my passion for reading...fiction and nonfiction. That we can ceaselessly expand our horizons is something that always appeals to me and that I can benefit from something someone else wrote will always serve to stimulate me. It has been said that you can't teach and old dog new tricks, but I beleive that this is only the case when then dog no longer chooses to learn. For those of us who need the stimulation, however, we understand that we will NEVER stop learning and that the world and everything in and everything ever written will serve as guideposts along the path to expanded horizons.

I encourage all who read this to revel in those things that bring you joy and to not take them for granted. They are the things that add flavor and meaning to your life and help us to grow and develop. As Jung might have said, they are all aids in our quest for individuation, the quest to truly find out who we are.

trickster108