The Joy Project

[Annette]

About 20 years ago I went through a bad time in my life. I sought out counseling and did some time wallowing in my self-created vat of self pity.

Some time in there I realized that this is not what I wanted for the remainder of my life. I clearly saw that it was completely my choice to have a happy life. I was missing the little happys while I waited for the big happy joyous time in my life. I began looking for the little happys and found that the more I looked for them the more I found them. I have since come to understand that you can create joy for yourself, your community and for the planet.

This is my suggestion. I would like to offer this thread to talk about joy. What joy can we create for ourselves, our community and our planet? If you create a joy (big or small), please share with us how you created the joy and for what purpose. Let’s celebrate each other and the love we can offer in the smallest things.

With Love,
Annette

[Bunneh]

I don't know what it is about you Annette but I just adore you! You have the most beautiful energy. I was so touched by your term "little happys" that I am going to write it on a poster and put it on my wall. I have been in a space where I have forgotten about the little happys. Thank you for reminding me. <3

[Zen]

I posted this on another forum only last night but I'll share it here now as well... It's all about enjoying the moment ("a little happy").

Every now and again it pays to ask yourself "Would I rather be anywhere else or be doing something else right now?", and if the answer is 'no' then to make the most of that moment, however short it may be.

As an example it happened to me a while ago when making a train journey home after an afternoon on the coast taking some photos. I was looking out the window just relaxing and enjoying watching the countryside go by with the sun shining down, and for that moment in time, I really didn't need or want to be anywhere else! If I hadn't thought to myself "Would I rather be anywhere else right now" it wouldn't have been as special.

[prometheus]

Hey Annette, what a wonderful post! I sincerely thank you for bringing this to the others' attention.

I strongly believe that excitement happens when you are resonating with your true self. So when you act on your joys, you are saying to the Universe that you choose to be aligned with your true self, and soul purpose, and the Universe responds back, with no other choice then to sinchronisticaly bring to your reality more things that bring you more joy and excitement, all of which mean that you are even more aligned with your true spiritual selves.

So when you have to make a choice, always, always, always, with no exception, choose that which brings you the most joy and excitement. If you do this, life will flow through you effortlessly, and you'll be where you need to be, doing what you need to do, just by being yourself. This is what happiness feels like, at the highest level.

So it is also my suggestion for people to stop and spend a few minutes to really think on what brings you joy. When you have to make a decision, choose that which brings you the most joy and excitement. Always. This is physics. Maybe not the one we learn in school, but it's multidimensional physics, based on simple laws of the Universe, which have to work, every time.

The things that bring you joy simply allow synchronistically for the manifestation of the ideal circumstances for you to be your most true self, by alignment, resonance and harmony. This is the Law of Attraction.

Selamat Ja!

[shadowsong]

this is a beautiful idea

today my joy is...

-being still and watching-

the deer browsing through the woods

behind my house

thier gracefull curves and fluid joyous movement

helping my friends here on this board

knowing them better day by day

today my joy is...

the colors on the canvas I am painting

as they seem to look out at me

and whisper

"dance"

today my joy is...

procrastinating

and not caring what the future

might bring

today my joy is..

listening to the potted plants in my room
as they talk in soft voices to me and...

and the rythmic typing of my fingers on the keyboard

...echoing ...

in my mind making me think of the drums of the ansestors

today my joy is....

.....
you
...
your smile were ever you are
whoever is reading these words

[indigostars]

You're completely right.

Since my change of schools and surroundings I've had to rely on these "little happys" to make my day worth smiling about. For the past week I've been making a mental list of all the good little things that happened during the day and it makes me feel better about my life. These little happys give me hope that the big ones aren't too far out of reach.

[Annette]

Bunneh,
You are so very welcome! We all get bogged down from time to time with life’s “to do” list. Especially if the to do list is longer then the have fun list. This project is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. It was all of you who were my inspiration to change things up in my life. Thank you for the inspiration.

Zen,
Yes! To find the happys even when we are “stuck” somewhere (on a train, in a meeting, etc.) is sooo important. We are never somewhere where there is no opportunity for lessons and joy. Thank you for adding this!

Helder,
Always so wise! Much love!

Shawdow,
I LOVE the dancing colors and the talking petunias! You got my meaning so right!

Indigo,
Yes! Sometimes the little happys are more important then the big ones because they happen more frequently. You can always count on those coming.

You are all so beautiful!

Ok! Sharing time. I got up this morning with the thought of creating joy this morning. I was welcomed with a warm, almost spring day. The sun was shining and the air was warm. I wanted to try some things with my class. My always receptive sponges came in with an expectation this morning. I think they almost knew about my project.

I explained to them what we were doing today. I said that we were going to do our math and language lessons but we were going to do them with joy. We talked about joy and what it felt like. We talked about what gives us joy in our lives. Then we took it outside.

We did math, reading, language and writing outside today. I always gave them choices (“Do you want to do reading in the classroom or should we take it outside?). After the 3rd or 4th time I said this one of my little wide-eyed indigos said, “You know, you are really not giving us choices.” I asked what he meant. He said, “It’s like the same as asking us if we want ice cream or spinach.” We had a good belly laugh over this one.

I would give them a lesson and then I just sat back and watched them go. I saw children teaching children. It was beautiful!
We all left with smiles on our faces. It was a long cold winter and this is just what we all needed!

I can’t wait to see what is presented for us tomorrow for our joy project!

With Love,
Annette

[Sunshine]

Isn't this like an Oprah thing?

[friedfajitas2]

I posted the same thing twice accidentally, and I couldn't figure out how to delete it, so here's smiles and Joyful Cloud.

[friedfajitas2]

This is a really great post, Mom... I'm proud to be your daughter. And shadowsong... that poem is beautiful. It emits a complete feeling of peace in just the wording of it. I just had to say those two things before telling about my joys today.

Today, my joy... was the magnificent orange-red sunrise and the blue house across the street contrasting like the perfect painting. The smell of old books and damp wood in the school library when I went in for English today. Singing out loud to a song on the radio I haven't heard in a while when we went to Safeway. Laughing with Mom in the gas station. These were the most insignificant little moments in my life, but the greatest moments in my life as of... this moment.

Love always,
Ayla

[Annette]

Isn't this like an Oprah thing?

I'm not aware of the Oprah thing but I wouldn't doubt it, Sunshine.

[Annette]

This is a really great post, Mom... I'm proud to be your daughter. And shadowsong... that poem is beautiful. It emits a complete feeling of peace in just the wording of it. I just had to say those two things before telling about my joys today.

Today, my joy... was the magnificent orange-red sunrise and the blue house across the street contrasting like the perfect painting. The smell of old books and damp wood in the school library when I went in for English today. Singing out loud to a song on the radio I haven't heard in a while when we went to Safeway. Laughing with Mom in the gas station. These were the most insignificant little moments in my life, but the greatest moments in my life as of... this moment.

Love always,
Ayla

Ayla! Beebee! Shopping was fun today, huh? Even with the grim reaper prowling around the store. Love the moments, Puss, and the moment will love you!

Love in bushels!

Da Mamma

[Bunneh]

You two sound like you have a riot of a time together, my Mum and I have are best friends like that too

[ocean_soul]

My joy is talking to my best friend, making him laugh, and being able to go into kitty mode around him without feeling like a complete and total goof ball. XD

Another source of joy are my nieces. Especially the time when the younger one came home from school with a project from that day (a shamrock) that said, "I feel lucky to know you!" for me, and it listed the reasons why. It's hanging up beside my computer now.

[Annette]

Bunneh,
Yes...We have so much fun together. We are more friends now than mother and daughter. She is an adult and still needs a bit of guidance but not the mother/teacher sort. Really...it's more of a bouncing ideas off of me now. I love that she talks to me. So many teens shut their parents out these days.

We are rediscovering each other after a bad time with her ex-boyfriend. It caused much tension between us.

The moments now are full of love and laughter! I'm loving these moments!

[Annette]

My joy is talking to my best friend, making him laugh, and being able to go into kitty mode around him without feeling like a complete and total goof ball. XD

Another source of joy are my nieces. Especially the time when the younger one came home from school with a project from that day (a shamrock) that said, "I feel lucky to know you!" for me, and it listed the reasons why. It's hanging up beside my computer now.

That is so cool! I'm going to use this idea for St. Patrick's day in my class! I love it! What a wonderful lesson in creating joy!

[Annette]

I had a weird night last night. My sleep time was disrupted by many stange dreams and it seemed to go in warp speed. I woke up several times because of the dreams and then, all of a sudden, it was time to get up. I got up wanting to continue my joy project and I said a little prayer for energy.

Something did "present" itself as soon as I got to school. I had ordered many learning music CD's quite a while ago. When I arrived their were fun boxes stacked in my room. So...this was my created joy today. We learned all day through music! This helped me out so much because I lacked energy. My lessons were ready made so we danced and learned. So much fun!

Side note....This is a cute indigo story today. I took a swig out of my water bottle and sucked it right into my lungs. One of my babies came up to me and was patting me on the back (he's 6 years old going on eternity). He asked me "Teacher, are you having difficulties? Slow down and find a deep breath." And then he looked right into my eyes and started breathing slowly as if he were willing me to breath.

Umm....let's see...yes! I'm the teacher. Sometimes I just need to reaffim that.

Really...I don't mind sharing the learning/growing experience with 6 year olds.

[friedfajitas2]

My joy for today… was during my 1st Hour class. I’m an aid for a freshmen PE class, and basically, my job in there is to read the tests, and sometimes the chapters, with the special ed. kids in the class. So today, I was reading the chapter with a dyslexic girl, and she was having a lot of trouble. I suggested that she point to the words when reading (a trick I learned when working with Mom a few years ago), and even though she still stumbled, she was reading a lot smoother. It was really… satisfying, that I was able to help her read better.

[ocean_soul]

Last night I got home and the crystals I had bought on ebay had arrived. ^_^ Squee!

That is so cool! I'm going to use this idea for St. Patrick's day in my class! I love it! What a wonderful lesson in creating joy!

I'm glad you like the idea enough to try it out with your class! It's so cute, my niece misspelled/miswrote half of the words in it, including my name. XD

[Electra]

About 20 years ago I went through a bad time in my life. I sought out counseling and did some time wallowing in my self-created vat of self pity.

Some time in there I realized that this is not what I wanted for the remainder of my life. I clearly saw that it was completely my choice to have a happy life. I was missing the little happys while I waited for the big happy joyous time in my life. I began looking for the little happys and found that the more I looked for them the more I found them. I have since come to understand that you can create joy for yourself, your community and for the planet.

This is my suggestion. I would like to offer this thread to talk about joy. What joy can we create for ourselves, our community and our planet? If you create a joy (big or small), please share with us how you created the joy and for what purpose. Let’s celebrate each other and the love we can offer in the smallest things.

With Love,
Annette

Annette,

This is awesome and is becoming top priority in my life! I have spent years just sad, depressed and miserable. It is not possible to lift up this bleeding planet and the oppressions we can so plainly see without joy. Joy gives these things wings I think.

I am working on a few "projects" and would like your permission to use your idea "The Joy Project" in my work. This is for my own community and through a non-profit organization.

There are a lot of things I find joyful. For me it is being with nature, hiking, people that love the earth, gardening, sunshine, flowers, art, cultures, science and learning of all kinds and especially music.

Of course flirting with a sexy boy is not a bad passtime, if you behave and keep it all "in the light" of course...; )

Thanks so much for sharing this!