ON JOY
Nobody can define joy
for you.

Stop trying to find it outside
yourself.

Only you can acknowledge, accept, encourage or recognize your
joy.

There’s no metric or way to measure – this is so hard.
We always want proof that what we’re experiencing is true;
that we can hold it up against some standard
~ usually defined by others.

What if you let that go?
You get to decide.

Your joy does not need to be
productive.

Your joy does not need to result in
making more money.

Your joy does not need to make sense
to anyone else.

Your joy can be weird
or quiet
private
or shared.

But it’s all yours
and yours alone.

When it happens, you are
most yourself
and there is no time
or worry
or panic.

Being open to joy takes
practice and a belief
that you are
worthy.

Feeling joyful is to be your most
powerful and vulnerable in the
same moment.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What if your answer was: to be joyful.

What would you do next?

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For some reason, I find much delight in taking black and white photographs of vegetables. I stumbled on this by accident when one day I brought home a stalk of Brussel Sprouts ~ I’d never seen them like that before!! I had to get a pic (that’s the shot above)! I’m not really sure why it makes me happy, but it does.

Although I am using my iPhone to take the images, it is a more “analog” activity, so no screens and no numbing; just me and the veggies and figuring out lighting. Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense, right? Oh, well! What it does do is make me smile like an 8 year old who just heard the ding ding of the ice cream truck! 

I challenge you ~ what brings you joy? Where do you feel most yourself and time stops? And if your to-do list wasn’t so long, you would might actually do it, but then you don’t because it’s just easier to be busy. 

I’m hereby giving you permission to do that thing!! Today!!!! Make yourself smile!! I’d love to hear what brings you joy, Laura, so hit reply and tell me!!! 

Many hugs, 
Laura

P.S. If you experience joy and then your next thought is “when is the other shoe going to drop,” then check out this video by Brené Brown on the topic of foreboding joy. Trust me, it’s fascinating! 

Here are some of my recent favorites? Can you guess what these are??? If you want to see them as I post, follow on Instagram @apeeling_veggies. 🙂

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Okay, okay… I’ll give in to your curiosity. First is “Orb of Beauty,” aka a radish. Then “Tubers On Parade” or my family in little potatoes (Jason, myself, Evan, Cash and Sonny!). “Maze of Hearts” (garlic scapes) and last, but not least is “Queen Kohlrabi” ~ a deliciously crunchy veggie that tastes great raw with lemon juice and little salt. Here’s to you finding YOUR joy.