Making love will produce joy in ways unimaginable; from your baby toes to the follicles in your scalp. It will produce bliss. Be intimate today or tonight. Make love unexpectedly or schedule it in your long week. Take your time and breathe in their scent. Take an even longer time and watch them undress. Hurriedly get in the mood. Touch fingers, connect toes, give eye lash kisses. Hold their hand and breathe in deeply together. Do the do; get your freak on; do the nasty or whatever you want to call it..just do it. Even better...do it with the one you love.
Showing posts with label 101 ways to invoke joy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 101 ways to invoke joy. Show all posts
Shopping.....hmmm...the lascivious act of spending money. It can invoke joy if you're careful with it. Shop for anything. Shop for yourself. Shop for your mother. Shop for your niece. Pick up that book you've been dying to read. Buy a frilly piece of lingerie. Buy a scoop of coffee flavored icecream with caramel on top. Shop for a new type of wine. Shop for those one of a kind earrings. Buy your pet a new toy. Buy strawberry flavored lubricant. Buy grapes, apples, watermelon, blackberries, blueberries and kiwi. Shop for the biggest brightest sunflowers. Aren't you feeling joyful just imagining what you can buy?
There is nothing more exhilirating than planning a get away! A chance to get AWAY from the routine and monotony of every day living invokes joy. It doesn't have to be an elaborate trip to create joy. Often times looking into a untraveled part of your city or state is exciting. The act of choosing a new destination, finding accomodations (from simple to luxurious) and deciding upon the time of departure is freeing and joyful. Momentarily you are already there. Emotionally you can deal with the daily stress because you know that a reprieve is coming. Plan to get away and see what it does for your spirits.
Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” - Miriam Beard
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller
The journey not the arrival matters.” - T. S. Eliot
Gardening is therapeutic. Putting seeds into soil and watching something grow is joyful as it is a reminder of life. Understanding that something beautiful can grow from a tiny seed is a reminder of how we are able to grow individually. I love growing herbs like lemon balm, peppermint, thyme and lavender. They bring extra spice to my dishes and the beautiful pots in my window bring a smile to my face whenever I glance at them.
Children automatically invoke joy. Regardless of your mood or despondency they have a way of bringing light and energy and tons of smiles. You can't help but feel happy when you see big innocent eyes, little fat legs learning to crawl, or 9 year olds who are "weight lifting." :-) Playing the wii with them or uno or patty cake are all fun activities. It's a simple and yet beautiful way of feeling joyful. Find a child to play with today.
I keep a little bottle of bubble-blowing potion and a bubble wand on my desk. And when the day gets too heavy and I'm feeling overwhelmed, I may actually blow a few. Blowing the perfect bubble requires bringing your attention to your breath and placing it in the space of the present moment. Kind of like bubble meditation. Being fully present automatically lifts your spirits. Clears your mind of distractions. Brings clarity. Even some joy, if you're open to it.
Excerpt from the May 2009 "O" - The Oprah Magazine. p. 224.
There's an amazing rush that happens when I give. It can be my time, my money, a card, a gift or a service that I give. But when I do so I feel joyful. It lights me up because I'm not self absorbed in my life and I'm focusing on bringing pleasure to someone else. Sometimes we tend to think we have nothing to give because our "money may be funny" or we may be tired or the list of excuses that come with participating in life. The thing is to find something/any little thing that lets someone you love or even a stranger know that they are important. Give your time by listening to that same story that you've heard 100 times over; send a $5 gift card to a friend who you know just loves coffee or a particular fast food. Tell someone unexpectedly that you love them. Give from your soul and from your heart. Give without thinking about it. Give generously. The joy you will feel is indescribable....
"Gratitude is a two-fold love - love coming to visit us and love running out to greet a welcome guest. " - henry vandyke
"Gratitude is a two-fold love - love coming to visit us and love running out to greet a welcome guest. " - henry vandyke
Most of my fondest memories involve me dancing in some form or fashion. Kindergarten gave me my first taste of this delightful drug. We had a school program and it involved my class performing to some island music. I don't remember anything but moving my little hips and feeling on top of the world! I had the chance to visit Egypt about 15 years ago with my father and younger sister. We were in the market one day and there was this intoxicating music being played throughout the air. I couldn't help it; again I found myself moving my little hips and laughing and again feeling on top of the world! Dancing brings me joy. From holding Yums (my son) when he was infant close to my heart and lulling him to sleep while moving to Coltrane; to holding someone close while in my pj's and socks rocking in tune to Anita Baker. I don't care what the music is...gospel, jazz, reggae, rock, alternative, neo soul, rap, dirty south...I am moved to move my little hips and take it all in. Dance. When noone is looking and everyone is looking....
