Meri's Musings

I just love "social commentary" art. It thrills me when someone turns a pet peeve  into a piece of art that makes other people think. Jenny Fillius is a great example. Here's what she has to say about her pieces. What gives you joy, while making you think? What thrills you? Notice it. Cultivate it. Celebrate it. Share it. 1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into  the Mr. Linky box along with your info. 3. Visit other players and let their joy infect you. Leave them a comment because everyone  enJOYS getting positive feedback. Let's keep the epidemic of JOY going!

One thing I've learned about cultivating JoY is that when you start looking for it, it shows up everywhere. In the weirdest places. In unbelievable forms and shapes. Like this guy. . . . found in an antique store in Thorp, Washington. It's a kitschy pitcher.   Trying saying that fast 5 times. I dare you. I bet you can't do it without laughing. And letting the JoY leak in. The crazy pitcher made me laugh out loud. If I hadn't been in a "paring down, simplify" phase of my life, I absolutely positively would have brought him home with me. Simply for the smiles he'd evoke. (Instead, I bought a beautiful embroidered handkerchief to add to my stash of beautiful nose wipes.) How are you cultivating joy? Share your wins, your misty-eyed moments, your ear-to-ear grins. Where do you find JOY? What thrills you? Notice it. Cultivate it. Celebrate it. Share it. ...

Yesterday, I spent some time leafing through my digi photo collection, looking for Uncommon Shapes , the 52 Photos Project theme for this week. As I reviewed various photo collections,  I found that every photo is linked to memories. . . of fun, of exploration,  of just  slowing down to notice appreciate the beauty all around me to refill my well. Hmmm. . .   those are all components of  cultivating joy. What a coincidence! How are you cultivating joy? Share your wins, your misty-eyed moments, your ear-to-ear grins. Where do you find JOY? What thrills you? Notice it. Cultivate it. Celebrate it. Share it. 1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into  the Mr. Linky box along with your info. 3. Visit other players and let their ...

What gives me joy? Saying YES selectively, "Affirmative" by MeriMagic (Meri Arnett-Kremian) on Polyvore. only to those things that ignite my curiosity, fan the flames of my passion or hold some seed of possibility I find worth planting given other demands on my time. That's been a hard lesson for me to learn. For too long, I said yes reflexively. To almost anything and anyone. That's an invitation for burn-out. One of the wisdom gifts of getting older is discernment. What gives you JOY? Share the Joy.  1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into  the Mr. Linky box along with your info. 3. Visit other players and let their joy infect you. Leave them a comment because everyone  enJOYS getting positive feedback. Let's start an epidemic of JOY!

I'll admit it. Finding joy in unlikely places is one of my special gifts. I love colorful, rusty, decaying things that remind me that aging is a natural process and carries its own beauty. Reflections definitely make the joy list for me. . .  even when the Space Needle looks all tangled up. Blog hopping each week to visit all of you makes my heart sing. What gives you JOY? Share the Joy.  1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into  the Mr. Linky box along with your info. 3. Visit other players and let their joy infect you. Leave them a comment because everyone  enJOYS getting positive feedback. Let's start an epidemic of JOY!

We've survived the end of the Mayan cycle, are learning to write 2013 on our checks.  It's a new year. Is that idea a stretch for you? Yeah, me too! (though I'd like to have abs and legs like hers,  the outfit is a little too much -- or too little -- for my taste. But it gives me JOY to think about being a little bit wild for a change. (And, instead of New Year's Resolutions, I'm doing a series of Notes to Myself for the month of January. Some of them are about being a little more playful, if not actually going all the way over  to the wild side. They'll be here on Meri's Musings.) What gives you JoY? Share the Joy.  1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. capture the URL of the specific post and paste it into  the Mr. Linky box along with your info. 3. Visit other players and let their joy infect you. Leave them a comment because everyone  enJOYS g...

It's easy to stalk JoY this time of year. Family gatherings the excited anticipation in children's eyes the near-manic intensity in the grocery store on Christmas eve day (well, maybe most people don't find that joyful) I found plenty of JoY over the past week, mostly in the form of pint-size people. Little Oliver is now almost seven weeks old.  Good as gold. Loves to be upright. Is a good snuggler. His cousin Serenity  got a rush of joy  from holding him. Logan had fun playing with Serenity, finger puppets and hot wheels (which the cats found absolutely fascinating) and then there was the present-opening part. Poor kid has too many Christmas appearances to count, but each one comes with presents. I want to give him Christmas memories  beyond the ripping of paper and the temporary frenzy of things, so I engineered an outing. Last year,  we nearly froze our fingers wa...

As most of you know, I've got another blog called MeriMagic , mostly dedicated to participation in collaborative blog things. Over the past 12 days, I've posted 12 posts celebrating the Divine Feminine, the Holy Mother, the Virgin of the Americas, in connection with Rebecca's A Virgin a Day. Looking forward to creating something special for each post, to seeing the posts so lovingly created by all the other participants was a treat each of the days. Feeling like each encounter was a bit of girl talk, a conversation about what's important, what speaks to our souls, what feeds our wellspring of joy. So thanks, Rebecca and all of you who participated (and yes, Spadoman, I'm including you in the girl talk-ers, but that's a compliment) you're the JOY I'm talking about this week. What gives you JoY? Please share! 1. do a post that tells and shows what gives you joy. 2. cap...