joyful life

Something New: Capturing My Joyful Pause Moments. Weekly Recap.

garden off deck 1200Looking out my writing cottage and enjoying how my little perennial garden is starting to grow once again for the season.

I’m trying something “new.” While I do try and live a joyful life, I decided I wanted to try and capture a moment of joy each day. Something that makes me smile. Something that makes me forget time exists. Something that fills me up. While I will concentrate mostly on capturing it in photos, I may also include a quote now and then too, or whatever strikes my fancy as a moment of joy.

The name of my website, Joyful Paws, was born because of my dogs showing me the way to more joy. Even when Cassie Jo was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, and Frankie became paralyzed from IVDD, they lived each day from a place of happiness despite their challenges. They taught me that we always have a choice.

Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it everyday. -Henri J.M. Nouven

So each week I’ll recap my daily moment of joy and share it here on my blog (I’ll recap on a Saturday or Sunday- just depending on how my week plays out and what’s going on on any given weekend). I like this idea as a practice to look for, and choose joy, just as Henri J.M. Nouven said.

I hope you will find joy in my “joyful pause” moments I will share with you. And I hope it will encourage you to look for those little moments of joy in your own life.

Here is the rest of my joyful pause moments from the week:

flowers and rainbow outside cottage 1200Bringing home flowers for outside my writing cottage. A second, unexpected joyful pause moment was looking at the photo and it looks like there is a rainbow running through the center of it. I have no idea how that happened!

yoga gidget 1200Coming out of shavasana pose, onto my side, and seeing this sweet face.

cassy painting 1200Seeing my dear friend, Cassy Tully’s heart happy doing her art outside on a beautiful day.

tea and books e 1200Spending time on the deck in the morning, reading, sipping my warm lemon water, listening to the birds, and soaking in a bit of warm sun. These simple pleasures truly bring me so much joy.

tree frog  e 1200Hanging out with a tree frog.

Hello February. A Reminder of What Matters Most.

IMG_1972 1200Hello, and welcome February!  I, for one, was happy to flip my rooster and dog calendars this morning, saying farewell to January.  As I flipped my rooster calendar, I said, “Rabbit! Rabbit!” This is supposed to bring good luck for the month.  Don’t worry, it’s not too late, you can still say it too.

This month is a reminder to us what love is all about.  What we all want— to love and be loved. John and I don’t exchange gifts or cards for Valentine’s Day. It is something we have mutually agreed upon.

It’s the time spent together with Kylie and Gidget nearby, the talks about life that John and I have, the laughing we do often, and the experiences we create, that matter most to me.

How great it feels to be at a point in my life where I completely understand John loves me. I no longer question it as I did for so many years.

John has stood by me as I blossomed into who I am today. Not always easy as I tried to find my way to the heart of who I am.

The gift of love is within these four walls of our little green cottage with two dogs who complete our circle of joy. Here is where I want to be, spending this, the calendar month of love, with the man who loves me just as I am.

Learning About Ourselves Through the Books We Read. How Books Helped Me During My Sabbatical…And Continue to.

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One thing I immersed myself in the last two months was reading. I love to read. I rarely watch TV as books are far more interesting to me.

While I read often at night, during my sabbatical I read when I felt called to, or when a book was so good I just had to get back to it.  I also read with the intent of exploring some avenues that are of interest to me. I’m still doing that.  So many books and even with sabbatical, seems so little time to get to them all!

It is intriguing to me as I let my mind clear what was coming up for me. I found myself going back to books I had read years ago. I followed those impulses as I knew I either needed to be reminded of what matters to me, or I needed to glean something new I might have missed before.

I break my books into three separate categories below. Category one is exploration. These are topics of which I am interested in learning more about. Category two are books I felt the need to read again which I call Revisited.  Category three is For Fun.  No explanation needed there!

Thought you might enjoy a peek inside my sabbatical in this way.  Many books I’ve listed  I have read, some I’m currently reading, and some I look forward to reading.  I think books we are attracted to tell us a alot about ourselves, our interests, and what our hearts may be trying to tell us.

Another thing I realized in the books I’m reading and continue to be attracted to are all affirmations of what is meaningful to me.  When I walked away from writing for my blog and newsletter, as well as setting others things aside, I found that through the books I chose to read, and thoughts that flowed through my mind, that this is who I am. I felt so empty walking away largely in part due to grief, which made me question all over again, what is my purpose? But I continue to be fascinated by exactly the things I’ve always been:  Animals, writing, finding happiness in what brings me joy, and living within what it is that makes my life meaningful for me.

EXPLORATION

Animal Voices, Telepathic Communication in the Web of Life by Dawn Baumann Brunke

Animal Voices, Animal Guides by Dawn Baumann Brunke

Shapeshifting and our Animal Companions by Dawn Baumann Brunke

Animal Teachings by Dawn Baumann Brunke

Enchantment of the Faerie Realm- Communicate with Nature Spirits and Elementals by Ted Andrews

Awakening Joy- 10 Steps That Will Put You on the Road to Real Happiness by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander

The Simple Living Guide by Janet Luhrs

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

Bringing Your Soul to Light by Dr. Linda Backman

I realized when looking through my notes from 2005 when I was going through my life coaching work with coach, Diane that one of my interests I had listed was animal communication. Many of you may recall that I’ve had readings done for Cassie, Kylie, Frankie and Joie.  Also some amazing signs from my animals seem to present themselves to me, which further intrigues me.

I will continue to explore the animal communication world through reading.  I’m also working with Dawn to bring her to my home for an animal communication workshop later this winter or early spring 2014.  The two-day weekend workshop will be limited to 14 people.  If this is of interest to you, please do let me know and I’ll add you to my list of people to contact once we have all the details together.  You can learn more about Dawn here.

REVISITED

A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson

The Second Journey- The Road Back to Yourself by Joan Anderson

A Walk on the Beach by Joan Anderson

A Weekend to Change Your Life-Find Your Authentic Self After A Lifetime of Being All Things to All People by Joan Anderson

When the Heart Waits- Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred Questions by Sue Monk Kidd

Endings. Beginnings…When Midlife Women Leave Home in Search of Authenticity by Ani Liggett, Ph.D

Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

FOR FUN

Blush- A Mennonite Girl Meets A Glittering World by Shirley Hershey Showalter

One Woman Farm by Jenna Woginrich

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach