Tuesday, September 21, 2004

What Makes You Joyful?

I have been told by my friends that I have a "tender heart" and have been nicknamed "goosebumps" because everything gives me chills.  I can cry at the drop of a hat and little, small things can bring me joy.  Perhaps it is because I have had alot of illness in my life or perhaps it is because I have a highly sensitive nervous system, but I can see some things that other's don't.  I find four leaf clovers at the drop of a hat.  I have found thousands in my life.  I can cry at a TV commercial.  I can stare at a picture and jump into it and be in the picture.  I can listen to music and laugh or cry with the lyrics.  I can cry with a book.  I can read a paragraph in a book and stop and think about what I am reading as I go along and really digest it.  I can live the book and not just read it.  I like to use my five senses.  I wanted to pose a question to everyone.  What makes you happy?  What brings you joy?  How do you use your senses?  I will say that I love sitting in the clovers and looking for four-leaf clovers.  I love nature.  I love painting.  Has any book made you cry?  I cried as I read "To Kill A Mockingbird".  I get chills every time I hear the National Anthem.  I like to share small joys with others as these small joys are what make my day seem so much more lively and wonderful.  They are gifts from God.   Any small joys in your life you want to share?

15 comments:

  1. For me what brings joy to my life is a nice cool breeze...I love feeling the freshness on my skin and breath in the crisp air....I love baking for my family and when they come home to see how excited they are over the treats I've made for them...I love sitting in my recliner chair and my dog rests his head on my lap and looks into my eyes as I pet him...I love sitting in the hot tub with my husband and children and we reminisce together....laughing while the dogs run around the tub trying to be included in the fun...Above all, I love my family and friends...to me that brings me joy.

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  2. I can sure relate to all of this. I have some entries on these things too. What really makes me happiest? My family. : )

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  3. Can't find place to make print bigger and can hardly see this!  Val, I am so like you in so many ways---They used to call me the "Tear Leader" instead of cheerleader!! All those things plus a few more make me cry!! Also  finding a penny because I consider it a message from my best friend who died a few years ago. I am new to journal reading and even newer to trying to start one. I really enjoy reading yours. As a retired nurse  your medical history is also facinating--tho I know you would rather be facinated by something else!! Keep up the good writing!!

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  4. I think you do have a tender heart, I got that from you hon :)
    I cry at songs that have memories for me, at the national anthem, at happy thoughts of my son, at adverts, like you, at movies, at nice things others do and say, while reading, I take such a long time to read a good book, as I too read paragraphs over and over if there's something I liked.   And have finished a book only to turn to the first page and start reading all over again!  I like pretty colours, pretty flowers, trees and sunshine.  I like windy days, and snowy days and dark starry nights.  Strawberry milkshake and chocolate cake, and my new bin even!  Doesn't take much to please me :)  I like you hon.
    Sara   x

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  5. You do have a good heart.............
    http://journals.aol.co.uk/sdrogerson/SpecimenDays

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  6. simple joys, hmmm... spending time with John, spending time with family, spending time doing nothing, picnics, the beach, looking at old photos, playing with my cat Michael, fun songs, love songs, Christian songs, well who doesn't get chills at the National anthem, watching the spring flowers poke through the ground after winter, wasting time on the computer (lol), Jane Austen, etc, etc

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  7. Love and compassion, wherever it is found. A lakes reflection,  the upturned face of a child, rain on a tin roof...poetry. The latest line of poetry that made me shiver:
    You carried solar rhythms
    on winds that I have memorized...

    Priceless.

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  8. I cry at the drop of a hat too, I feel the emotions buidling up inside and its hard to kep them in. I cried at David Peltzer, 'a child called it' because it was so horrendous what he went through. I cried at my wedding, I cry at the soaps on TV and I cry when I hear 'auld lang syne' at midnight on new years eve and I even cried at the film ET. We're just big softies, lol ;).......Jules xxx
    http://journals.aol.co.uk/jules19642001/Itsmylife/

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  9. Like Jules, David Peltzer's book made me cry as well. I cry at the slightest thing - a great love story, an animal dying in a film or in real life, seeing starving children, Land Of Hope and Glory sung at the Last Night Of The Proms.  Some classical music has me in tears.  I am a very emotional person.  What are the things that make me happy?  Working in the garden, seeing snowflakes fall (we do not get much snow). Above all, right now, having baby Nathan nuzzling against me neck and seeing his face beam into a wonderful smile.  There are so many things that make me happy I cannot list them all.

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  10. God bless people like you,Strong and a woman with a big heart..

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  11. Val you and I are SOOOO much alike.

    It's going to sound corny but friends bring me real happiness... being needed.... My Kids of course..... singing...... scrapping..... quilting.....

    Reading is something I love to do.  And yes, I've cried at books... and often after I've finished a book I really liked.. I spend days wondering what happened to characters "after" the end.  I too will sit and wonder about something I've read.  

    Yes, too too much the same.

    lol
    angie

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  12. You sound like me too. Sometimes I wish I weren't so sensitive. I'd probably get along better if I had a thicker skin. :-/

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  13. You know what? I am the exact same way--the national anthem always makes me shiver! And although I don't find 4-leaf clovers I do tend to become a part of the book that I am reading, so much that when I finish it I am sad because there's not more. I cry at commercials, too (the one where the black lady and man had just bought a house and the kids were so happy because they had a back yard. The woman started to cry and said "It's my first back-yard, too.") I cried so hard on that one. I can cry or laugh for no reason, and I've not been very sick in my life. I'm just me. But I understand you, so you are not alone.

    --Summer

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  14. I feel the same way...sometimes I have to remind myself of the world around me, but when I'm experiencing it with all my senses on high alert its wonderful.
    I played a beginners tournament where I won. I would just get in this zone where all my senses were concentrated on the job ahead. I love that feeling. Its the zone.
    Any books by Jodi Picoult make me cry...i don't think she's a quite well known author as some of the Koontz and King and Cornwell of the world. She describes everything so well its like you are there...all the things that characters are smelling, feeling/touching, hearing...all the senses are used. They just suck you in the first paragraph and then you are gone.

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  15. Like you Val, I am very sensitive.  I can cry very easily if my feelings are hurt, or I get frustrated, or well, sometimes for no reason at all.  I've been told I have to toughen up, but you know, we can't be something we're not meant to be.  I've been thinking long and hard about my makes me happy.  That's a tough question because lots of things make me happy, but they are only transient things and can depend on my mood or the moment.  I think you are asking what really brings joy to our lives day in and day out.  The thing that instantly came to mind is walking with my little Sheltie girl, Lucy.  It is then that I feel complete and utter joy and contentment.  We stroll down the street, looking around.  Sometimes I stop to smell a flower and she wants to smell it, too.  Sometimes she'll stare at something I can't see, but I know she's observing something.  That is what really and truly fills my heart and soul with happiness.  I wouldn't trade our little walks for any other kind of fun.  Great entry, Val.  Very thought provoking.  Take care.
    Susan

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