When someone gives me a little joy,
it lightens my step
and fills my heart with a sense of well-being.
It can be anything . . .
a phone call, letter, or a text,
a cabbage from someone’s garden,
a smile,
a trinket from a thrift shop
that made them think of me.
It can be an invitation to meet . . .
for tea or coffee
or a walk,
a hug,
a small kindness,
like helping me with bags of groceries in the rain.
asking me a question
that they’d really like to know what I thought,
sharing a story with me.
These are all treasures of the heart
and change us in ways we can feel,
if not adequately verbalize . . .
I had a friend
who brought me to an empty apartment
in an old mansion
with large rooms and high ceilings.
She spread a quilt on the floor for me to sit on
and sang me an aria
filling the apartment’s empty space
with her full-throated,
rich, contralto voice.
It is a gift
I will never forget.
When I think of these things,
these small gifts of joy
I realize that we all need that touch upon our lives.
There is no wrong time to give it.
We are a vast community of living souls,
all carrying out own burdens and pleasures
and giving joy
is a way to draw us closer
and to recognize the humanity
in each of us.
I no longer hesitate,
but put it out there,
because once I have been given it
it is imperative
that I give it away. ♥
The aria sang by your friend to you in a vacant room of an old mansion is so moving to me with just your retelling. Thank you for this reflection, dear Sparrow.
Spontaneously I had the chance to visit my 97 year old father and so I went and saw him the last days and spent many hours with him together. These days, this is what he most needs and which reaches him which always makes him very happy, and my sister and I try to visit him whenever it is possible, as we both live far away from his elderly home. Two other kind people well known to him from his homevillage are visiting him regularly both twice a week, which has been arranged by my sister for his joy. They for example put him in his wheelchair and whenever the weather allows it, bringing him to the cafe´ where he enjoys being there very much. Or the guys drive with him to town to visit other places where otherwise he would not be able to come to. My sister and I are so happy that he is well looked after when we cannot be there. So the visits of us all together make all the difference for him in this state of his life, and we all are happy to be able to do to help him feel he belongs and is cared for from our hearts.
Your father is very fortunate,
dear Ose,
that you,
your sister,
and his friends from ‘before’,
give him such kind,
loving,
and thoughtful devotion.
I felt the warmth of it
when reading your reflection,
which made me a little homesick
for my own family.
Thank you for your gentle spirit. ♥
I got a hearty “yes!” when I suggested to my husband that we could walk down to the neighborhood bakery after he gets done with his training time on his bike, so that’s some joy for both of us right there. (No reason the person who needs joy can’t be ourselves!)
We always chat with the people who work there. A couple of times we’ve ended up in a conversation with someone we didn’t know and had a delightful time making a new connection. I’ll watch for some of those–the woman who teaches art classes at the bakery, the woman who asked about the scarf I was wearing that I had knitted and who turned out to be someone we’d already met through our Buy Nothing group. Being recognized is always a joy in that kind of neighborly context and our bakery is a real third place for meeting.
We’re in the midst of our “19 dates for 19 years”, which we’re doing over a few weeks instead of in an intensive string the way we’ve done the past few years. I started that with 15 dates for 15 years. Tonight we’re going to the Shoestring Circus–like Cirque du Soleil on a very small scale, with a troupe based in Bellingham, WA, that comes to Olympia. We went the first year they came to town in 2024 and this is now a standing date for our anniversary celebrations. Maybe we’ll go for ice cream later at the very good local place we stopped at just yesterday. Summertime ice cream is a definite joy!
In a couple of weeks we’re going back to the town we used to live in as part of a vacation. I’ll get to see my older daughter and her family, and reading this question reminded me to give her our schedule and ask when we can have mother/daughter time as well as time with the whole family. I’m going to contact my cousin who lives there who’s a dear friend and see if we can get together with her, and I’ll be seeing my best friend too. Planning ahead for those joys.
Well, I try my best every day to bring some joy.
Sometimes, like when I’m working, it’s a bit of a performance. The funny part is, it usually becomes genuine when the other person engages. Joy spreads like that.
I will spread kindness wherever I go today & to whomever crosses my path. A smile, a kind word, a compliment, it’s not hard to do.
I will also bless our troubled world with love & silent blessings. 🩷🙏🏻✨
Happy Summer Solstice All.☀️
🕊️🩷
Ask my husband how I can help (nothing I can do in this case). So, as a close second, make sure the house is clean and decluttered. Yes, it’s a gendered expectation, but he’s also more sensitive to it than I am, so an act of love.
What is one small thing I could do to create joy for someone who needs it right now? We don’t often know who needs joy right now. We all tend to wear our masks so I say “Be Kind.” Always be kind.
I love today’s quote from Maya Angelou: “Love liberates. It doesn’t just hold — that’s ego — love liberates!” I paraphrase a quote from Richard Rohr’s book “The Tears of Things”: For most of us God is the name for divine love. Divine love is free from the vengeance our EGOs create.
Yes Carol Ann, kindness is the default.
It’s really my only job. 😁
I also really liked the Maya Angelou quote.
Reminds me not to hold on too tight to things. You know, attachment and all that. 🙏
Being under the government of God has shifted my basic desire for independence to intimacy. That and happiness are the main shared desires between my root people and me making it easier to enjoy quality time and spread joy on those closest to me.
We will be celebrating Father’s Day today and not tomorrow. I plan on bringing my dad some goodies (a couple frozen Irish potatoes – he was not able to have our traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal back in March). Will have some nice family time together today.
Happy early Father’s Day to you, Michele. Ngoc, me, and our family plan on doing the same. We’ll have a family gathering for my dad and brother, Dinh, at his house this evening.
One small thing I can do to create joy—bringing joy to someone who needs it—is to fully listen to stories and events shared by them, even if they are not really in my interest. Especially the elderly. It reminds me of my grandparents. They talked about things that not everyone enjoyed. Instead of listening to these stories with boredom, I listen to them with curiosity.
Thank you for doing that, Ngoc. I wish my grandchildren had even half the sensitivity to me that you do for yours. They know nothing about me and aren’t the least bit interested in learning, even if it means jiust being kind to me.
That saddens me, Katrina. I learned so much listening to my maternal grandmother and spending time with her! She taught me to knit, to tat (a skill I’ve lost but maybe someday I try again), to bowl. I loved going to her house. She had what we called “grandma cookies”–the skinny rectangular vanilla, chocolate and strawberry cookies from the store that were light and crispy with a cream filling. I still remember some of the toys she kept at her house that we played with.
We also visited my father’s parents. They were less warm and I found them a bit scary, but we knew them and had family reunions.
My mom made sure I knew stories about both sides of the family. These gave me a sense of how fortunate I was, since all my grandparents lived through very tough times. (My paternal grandfather died before I was born but I still heard stories about him.)
While your grandchildren might not be interested now, I wonder if it might mean a lot to them later if you wrote or recorded some of what you would want to share with them. I can hear my grandmother’s laugh in my memory. I wish I had recordings of her voice.
I’ll be visiting my older daughter in a couple of weeks. She’s married with stepchildren. Your comment makes me think about whether/how much those kids (14 and 18) know me. They’re very polite when we spend time together, but the storytelling? I need to bring that into our time together.
Listening to someone’s stories is such a kindness and a gift, and the stories themselves are gifts as well. We are a storytelling species–it’s how we make sense of things, how we create and sustain human connections and connections to the world around us.
My Ngoc, it’s easy for agendas to creep in. Finding activities becomes harder as we age with creativity only slowing down. And beside, coming from the older generation, talking is an effective coping technique for them too.
I should probably reach out to my grandmother, who is in a physical therapy facility due to a fall she took last month. She is an ornery 91-year-old who hates her walker but cannot walk without it. This is her 2nd fall in a year, and I’m hoping when she gets out of the facility that she goes and lives with my aunt. I hope she understands that she should not live alone anymore, but I won’t bring that up when I reach out. I will just ask how she’s doing and give her an update on what’s going on in my world. I know she’ll appreciate that.
Canes as well. I have a friend with nystagmus. She didn’t want to use a cane–a visible symbol of her disability, and we know how cruel society can be–but once she started she found it very freeing.
I know! That’s normally the case.
I picked up a friends mom at the airport, one time, and she had two walkers.
Each one had its own purpose. She was quite proud of them. Her attitude was so refreshing.
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When someone gives me a little joy,
it lightens my step
and fills my heart with a sense of well-being.
It can be anything . . .
a phone call, letter, or a text,
a cabbage from someone’s garden,
a smile,
a trinket from a thrift shop
that made them think of me.
It can be an invitation to meet . . .
for tea or coffee
or a walk,
a hug,
a small kindness,
like helping me with bags of groceries in the rain.
asking me a question
that they’d really like to know what I thought,
sharing a story with me.
These are all treasures of the heart
and change us in ways we can feel,
if not adequately verbalize . . .
I had a friend
who brought me to an empty apartment
in an old mansion
with large rooms and high ceilings.
She spread a quilt on the floor for me to sit on
and sang me an aria
filling the apartment’s empty space
with her full-throated,
rich, contralto voice.
It is a gift
I will never forget.
When I think of these things,
these small gifts of joy
I realize that we all need that touch upon our lives.
There is no wrong time to give it.
We are a vast community of living souls,
all carrying out own burdens and pleasures
and giving joy
is a way to draw us closer
and to recognize the humanity
in each of us.
I no longer hesitate,
but put it out there,
because once I have been given it
it is imperative
that I give it away. ♥
The aria sang by your friend to you in a vacant room of an old mansion is so moving to me with just your retelling. Thank you for this reflection, dear Sparrow.
I felt the same.
♥
Spontaneously I had the chance to visit my 97 year old father and so I went and saw him the last days and spent many hours with him together. These days, this is what he most needs and which reaches him which always makes him very happy, and my sister and I try to visit him whenever it is possible, as we both live far away from his elderly home. Two other kind people well known to him from his homevillage are visiting him regularly both twice a week, which has been arranged by my sister for his joy. They for example put him in his wheelchair and whenever the weather allows it, bringing him to the cafe´ where he enjoys being there very much. Or the guys drive with him to town to visit other places where otherwise he would not be able to come to. My sister and I are so happy that he is well looked after when we cannot be there. So the visits of us all together make all the difference for him in this state of his life, and we all are happy to be able to do to help him feel he belongs and is cared for from our hearts.
Your reflection made me smile – your father is well cared for and loved very much.
Your father is very fortunate,
dear Ose,
that you,
your sister,
and his friends from ‘before’,
give him such kind,
loving,
and thoughtful devotion.
I felt the warmth of it
when reading your reflection,
which made me a little homesick
for my own family.
Thank you for your gentle spirit. ♥
Fortunate indeed!
I got a hearty “yes!” when I suggested to my husband that we could walk down to the neighborhood bakery after he gets done with his training time on his bike, so that’s some joy for both of us right there. (No reason the person who needs joy can’t be ourselves!)
We always chat with the people who work there. A couple of times we’ve ended up in a conversation with someone we didn’t know and had a delightful time making a new connection. I’ll watch for some of those–the woman who teaches art classes at the bakery, the woman who asked about the scarf I was wearing that I had knitted and who turned out to be someone we’d already met through our Buy Nothing group. Being recognized is always a joy in that kind of neighborly context and our bakery is a real third place for meeting.
We’re in the midst of our “19 dates for 19 years”, which we’re doing over a few weeks instead of in an intensive string the way we’ve done the past few years. I started that with 15 dates for 15 years. Tonight we’re going to the Shoestring Circus–like Cirque du Soleil on a very small scale, with a troupe based in Bellingham, WA, that comes to Olympia. We went the first year they came to town in 2024 and this is now a standing date for our anniversary celebrations. Maybe we’ll go for ice cream later at the very good local place we stopped at just yesterday. Summertime ice cream is a definite joy!
In a couple of weeks we’re going back to the town we used to live in as part of a vacation. I’ll get to see my older daughter and her family, and reading this question reminded me to give her our schedule and ask when we can have mother/daughter time as well as time with the whole family. I’m going to contact my cousin who lives there who’s a dear friend and see if we can get together with her, and I’ll be seeing my best friend too. Planning ahead for those joys.
Love this!
Well, I try my best every day to bring some joy.
Sometimes, like when I’m working, it’s a bit of a performance. The funny part is, it usually becomes genuine when the other person engages. Joy spreads like that.
🙂
I will spread kindness wherever I go today & to whomever crosses my path. A smile, a kind word, a compliment, it’s not hard to do.
I will also bless our troubled world with love & silent blessings. 🩷🙏🏻✨
Happy Summer Solstice All.☀️
🕊️🩷
Happy Summer Solstice/Litha to you as well.
Thank you PKR and a happy solstice to you!
A Happy Summer Solstice
to you too,
dear PKR . . .
now if the fireflies would just come . . . ♥
Ask my husband how I can help (nothing I can do in this case). So, as a close second, make sure the house is clean and decluttered. Yes, it’s a gendered expectation, but he’s also more sensitive to it than I am, so an act of love.
What is one small thing I could do to create joy for someone who needs it right now? We don’t often know who needs joy right now. We all tend to wear our masks so I say “Be Kind.” Always be kind.
I love today’s quote from Maya Angelou: “Love liberates. It doesn’t just hold — that’s ego — love liberates!” I paraphrase a quote from Richard Rohr’s book “The Tears of Things”: For most of us God is the name for divine love. Divine love is free from the vengeance our EGOs create.
Yes Carol Ann, kindness is the default.
It’s really my only job. 😁
I also really liked the Maya Angelou quote.
Reminds me not to hold on too tight to things. You know, attachment and all that. 🙏
Yes, Charlie. Attachments be they things or habits!
I will be home most of the day. I hope my smile will come through in my calls and texts.
I’ll speak kindly, listen intently, and offer joy to people in the stores I’m in today – especially cashiers, stockers, etc.
Being under the government of God has shifted my basic desire for independence to intimacy. That and happiness are the main shared desires between my root people and me making it easier to enjoy quality time and spread joy on those closest to me.
We will be celebrating Father’s Day today and not tomorrow. I plan on bringing my dad some goodies (a couple frozen Irish potatoes – he was not able to have our traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal back in March). Will have some nice family time together today.
Thinking of Nanette when I saw this – https://nationaltoday.com/national-west-virginia-day/
Thank you for thinking of Nanette Michele. Good travel vibes to you wherever you and your husband may be Nanette.
Happy early Father’s Day to you, Michele. Ngoc, me, and our family plan on doing the same. We’ll have a family gathering for my dad and brother, Dinh, at his house this evening.
One small thing I can do to create joy—bringing joy to someone who needs it—is to fully listen to stories and events shared by them, even if they are not really in my interest. Especially the elderly. It reminds me of my grandparents. They talked about things that not everyone enjoyed. Instead of listening to these stories with boredom, I listen to them with curiosity.
Yes Ngoc, and asking questions is always an easy way to engage. Older people have stories.
Thank you for doing that, Ngoc. I wish my grandchildren had even half the sensitivity to me that you do for yours. They know nothing about me and aren’t the least bit interested in learning, even if it means jiust being kind to me.
That saddens me, Katrina. I learned so much listening to my maternal grandmother and spending time with her! She taught me to knit, to tat (a skill I’ve lost but maybe someday I try again), to bowl. I loved going to her house. She had what we called “grandma cookies”–the skinny rectangular vanilla, chocolate and strawberry cookies from the store that were light and crispy with a cream filling. I still remember some of the toys she kept at her house that we played with.
We also visited my father’s parents. They were less warm and I found them a bit scary, but we knew them and had family reunions.
My mom made sure I knew stories about both sides of the family. These gave me a sense of how fortunate I was, since all my grandparents lived through very tough times. (My paternal grandfather died before I was born but I still heard stories about him.)
While your grandchildren might not be interested now, I wonder if it might mean a lot to them later if you wrote or recorded some of what you would want to share with them. I can hear my grandmother’s laugh in my memory. I wish I had recordings of her voice.
I’ll be visiting my older daughter in a couple of weeks. She’s married with stepchildren. Your comment makes me think about whether/how much those kids (14 and 18) know me. They’re very polite when we spend time together, but the storytelling? I need to bring that into our time together.
Listening to someone’s stories is such a kindness and a gift, and the stories themselves are gifts as well. We are a storytelling species–it’s how we make sense of things, how we create and sustain human connections and connections to the world around us.
My Ngoc, it’s easy for agendas to creep in. Finding activities becomes harder as we age with creativity only slowing down. And beside, coming from the older generation, talking is an effective coping technique for them too.
Random acts of kindness and spontaneously share a smile to anyone in my path. Blessed weekend all! ☮️
I should probably reach out to my grandmother, who is in a physical therapy facility due to a fall she took last month. She is an ornery 91-year-old who hates her walker but cannot walk without it. This is her 2nd fall in a year, and I’m hoping when she gets out of the facility that she goes and lives with my aunt. I hope she understands that she should not live alone anymore, but I won’t bring that up when I reach out. I will just ask how she’s doing and give her an update on what’s going on in my world. I know she’ll appreciate that.
Yes! Ngoc’s comment and Katrina’s reply reinforce just how much this matters.
Walkers must have a lot of symbolic power, I’ve never met a single person who willingly accepted the use of one.
Canes as well. I have a friend with nystagmus. She didn’t want to use a cane–a visible symbol of her disability, and we know how cruel society can be–but once she started she found it very freeing.
I know! That’s normally the case.
I picked up a friends mom at the airport, one time, and she had two walkers.
Each one had its own purpose. She was quite proud of them. Her attitude was so refreshing.
If you reach out and listen to her stories, she’ll feel uplifted.
Amen.
A smile, a hug, a big ole how you doin today?, friend.
Peace, Love & Light.
That’s all it takes,
dear Joseph.
🙏🏼