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Tag Archives: Joy

We Need Room For Joy

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Uncategorized

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Emotions, Grief, Joy, Pain

We Need Room For Joy

 

There are two common emotional responses to bad experiences which are not advisable ways in which to deal with our pain, grief, anguish, anger, frustration, despair & sadness. First of all, we are not to not feel anything, stuffing the pain away somewhere deep inside the recesses of our souls & spirits, only to deny ourselves a process of healing in the end. Those things always have a way of resurfacing when we haven’t dealt with them. Secondly, we cannot dwell in those negative places once we’ve begun the process of healing for a duration longer than necessary.

Some take years of their lives or worse, their lifetimes, wearing their badges of “honor” which are only badges of injustice in reality for the loss of all their precious years of happiness, contentment, productivity & peace lost when those negative emotions we should only feel for a time have become encampments in which we have chosen to dwell for longer than necessary! We often want to wear our wounds like badges of honor because we feel some need for vindication or wronged by the injustices which we have had to endure, but in truth, the real badge of honor is one of strength & courage when we learn how to overcome our feelings moving beyond that which hurts us, keeping check on our own self-pity & going ahead with our lives as we know we should! We need to feel, to accept what life gives us, but we need to balance good & bad, not letting our negative baggage take such precedence that we no longer have room for joy in our own lives!

WHIMSY

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Happiness

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Fun, Happiness, Joy

WHIMSY

Whimsy, the art of finding joy in doing the silly things you love to do!  I categorize whimsy as the random desire to frolic, twirl, doodle, lolligag, linger, twiddle, and even dally!

Whimsy is the non-deliberate pursuit of nothingness, of pleasing oneself by partaking of happy-go-lucky random silliness.  I recommend that each one of you partake of random acts of whimsy each and every day, as that is the only way to alleviate the burdens of this world’s big weights upon your shoulders.  Whimsy is to our spirits, as taking in a fresh breath of air is to our lungs!  We celebrate our days spent wandering through our own unscheduled whimsy.  What, you may ask, might a great whimsical day include?  Well, in best measure, a day of whimsy might include, but surely not be limited to, dancing through your house on your day off listening to your favorite songs from the past; or twirling about the slippery kitchen floor with your daughter; or making wishes upon the shooting stars rocketing across the ebony night sky.  Whimsy is letting your childlike joy and desire to play take over for the regimented adult need to be disciplined, structured, reserved and shackled in maturity.  Whimsy is letting the grown up in you find the child all over again!

What do you do if it’s not natural for you to be whimsical?  Well, I suggest you run right now to the nearest open portion of your house and allow yourself five minutes of unadulterated twirling, or air-guitar playing while singing along to your favorite oldie-but-goody songs.  Just play!  If you need instruction, you might need more than my help, but try.  Bridge the part of you that is hesitant to let their inner child out.   Remember, life is a very precious and all-too-short journey, live it fully with passion and don’t allow yourself to be anything less that the star in your own life, be whimsical and love your life today!  Live it like there’s a party going on!! 

FEED YOUR SOUL

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Uncategorized

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Confidence, Hope, Joy, Laughter, Relationships, Soul, Spirit

FEED YOUR SOUL

Feed your soul with what you require for this life, starving it of anything you truly need for its preservation can lead to its slow demise.  The soul, just like the physical body, requires certain essential nutrients.  Those for most are:  love, companionship, joy, laughter, spirituality, close relationships born of confidence, and peace of mind.   Some may find they can exist easily without any or all of those, but rarely with a contented soul.  The being which dwells within, your spirit, starts to erode.  Feeding your soul, also means feeding your body, your mind, your heart, and your spirit.  When something is lacking from your inner set of needs, you will begin to feel an ache, a longing, a perpetuation of intolerance building within the cellular walls surrounding your most vital organs.  From there, the disease of the ultimate death of the soul which dwells within you, the wonderous and beautiful creation living on the inside of you, can and does eventually set in.

For me, when something is aching inside, it means it has gone unnourished or untended to.  It is not implausible to garner that for a reason of neglect, disturbance in patterns, inability to reach the “dream” or any other of a number of reasons, we cannot achieve what our souls demand for their very prosperity to thrive.  An example of this is richly quoted on the social media forum, Facebook.  It is often bandied as a profile post:  don’t give all of yourself to someone who sees fit to give you in return only crumbs!  Meaning, if you are more for someone than they can be in return, then the imbalance might cause your inner self to feel a sense of longing, of need, of less instead of enough.  It’s only up to you what you will tolerate in life, but I do know that settling for less than you deserve or than you truly want, will feel like you are starving your body!  Give it what it desires, without harming it with excess.  You must be aware of the internal desire your soul has to not in fact be selfish, but instead, to be the ultimate protector of self.  If you are out of bounds, off track, not in right step, starving the innermost sanctums of your being, you will feel discomfort, sometimes even to the point of a physical sense of pain for that lack!  Learn to listen instinctively to those things happening within your soul, they are in direct link with your spirit and body, if not in right step, you will soon pay in health, happiness, and hope lost!

How can you feed your soul?  It is so easy.  What makes you feel good?  What things do you enjoy that no one can take?  Maybe you love music and deny yourself that extra 1/2 hour of listening time in the car while driving to return phone calls instead.  My thought on that is this, driving and talking is hazardous, it slows down your reaction time, so keep the phone calls until you are stopped and listen to the music instead.  Even if you are a business person, you should just pull over, take the call and then commence in your driving again when you’ve finished.  I bet you learn how to more efficiently handle your cell-phone calls this way!

Put people who mean the most at the top of your life!  You aren’t going to keep them in your life for long if you let them feel diminished or take them for granted.  Life is precious, quit thinking there are tomorrows enough to make up for all the time the excuses used up today!  If you are making excuses for not doing something consistently, chances are you just didn’t want to do it anyway!  It’s a reality.   With the people we love, we must tend to the relationship every day, as though it were a garden and that without our care, something each day would wither and die.  Eventually, enough parts will have perished, that upon your unexpected return, you will find the garden has in fact completely gone, nothing is left.  Now I believe real love doesn’t die, but in that moment of such repetitive disregard, it has learned to shut itself off with all the negative things . . . like when weeds ultimately choke out the living, thriving plants in a garden.  They didn’t die, they were overtaken by something else and replaced!  If you love and value someone, you want to put them high up on your list of priorities, that relationship is something you don’t wish to forget to take care of each and every day!  

In feeding your soul, you can feed the world!  The souls and bodies, spirits and minds of this world are linked, and therefore, when we feed and nourish that which lives in us, we help to nurture the world.  No life is distinguishable from another, it is connected through humanity, and of course, the sum total experience of that humanity.  Live life with your soul nourished, and you shall give yourself back to the world, healthier, happier, and filled with hope! 

LET THE FUN SHINE

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in God

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adults, be positive, Change, choice, choosing, commitment, dream big, firm attitude, God, healthy esteem, Joy, joyful, positive energy, smiles, Worth

LET THE FUN SHINE

Let your sun shine, let the fun shine . . . be your joyful self, let the joy within you out, let your inner child reign!

I realize that as adults, we are all inundated with adult dilemmas.  We are overcome by problems, situations, a world plagued by worries and doubts, troubles and tribulations.  Where does that leave us these days?  We are often unable to find our own sweet natural smiles.  How many days do we walk under a dark dreary cloud, not able to muster a smile, nor to enjoy our lives?  It’s tragic, our days are numbered, so therefore, we are wasting such a precious commodity each time we waste one moment in our woeful turmoil.  I surely dread the thought that my last day would be spent muddled in mires of trouble.  I hope that I have pushed that aside and made a commitment to enjoy my every day, even the ones which are complicated by various situations, which I would wish away.  There are going to be those days, but I don’t have to be effected by them.  I can choose to look past them, to have a good attitude and to put my brightest beacon of a smile on, facing the world with an attitude of conqueror . . .

If you have done that, wasted days in perpetual condemnation, then you need to decide right now, enough!  No more wasting your most precious commodity, time!  God knows your days, but you don’t.  Believe in this day, believe it may be your last, and then ask yourself, do you want to waste it angry, frustrated, bitter, worried, conflicted, tense, or upset in any way, shape or form?  Ask yourself, “Self, how do I wish to spend this, my most precious day, today, the only one I know I have for certain?”

Hopefully, when you accept the realization that each is not promised but rather a generous gift, then you will believe your only choice is to correct your attitude, make changes in your behaviors, knowing that you are responsible for the outcome of your day.  We will all know good and bad events in our days.  That is a given.  No one is immune from the negative events which can hurt, harm, and chisel away at our security.  But bad events are only negative truly if we never learn from them, never see any opportunity to grow through the lessons we learn in them, nor if we never experience life as a survivor but rather always as a victim.  Even through the worst events in my life, eventually, after the pain subsides, I can see that I learned from the experience, I grew and improved from the living of that time.  It is all in our view of what we live through.  Change your view, be as positive and filled with faith, hope and a sense of determination through all your troubles as possible.  It is not always easy, but it is what makes us gritty and preserves our self-integrity, helps establish our sense of self in a strong and consistent way, and helps us to realize our full potential by eliminating the limitations we often place on ourselves when in “victim” mentalities.

See yourself as your own superhero of mood, attitude, emotion and determined effort!  Don’t just wait to react to things with emotions which tear down your defenses, but rather establish your own undeniable strong fortressed walls of healthy esteem, firm attitude, and positive energy.  Believe in yourself, accept that your life is a reflection of how you can shape your own emotions around life’s events, and don’t let anything tear down your sense of well-being, positivity, nor your assurances that all will work out for good in life!  Expect good things, dream big and don’t settle for less in life because you assume you aren’t worth any more!  You are worth the very best!

EVEN ONE BLESSING MAKES YOU BLESSED

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in God

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Appreciation, Beauty, Blessing, God, Gratefulness, Joy, Spirit, Thankfulness

EVEN ONE BLESSING MAKES YOU BLESSED

You needn’t wait upon a sea of blessings to consider yourself blessed!  You are blessed and should feel thankful even if there is just one thing today, right now, that you can consider a blessing.  Although, I would dare you to muse further and realize the others!

Look at your life, did you wake up anew today?  Then you are blessed.  Did you share a greeting, exchange some words of love, compassion, or warmth with another living soul?  Then you are blessed.  Did you witness something in nature which made you smile, which warmed your spirit, or which possibly reminded you of the awesome power of a universe so much greater than your own?  Then you are blessed.  Did you eat breakfast?  Did you find food and something to take in to enrich your body this morning?  Then you are blessed.  Did you have clothing to put on your body and shoes for your feet?  Then you are blessed.  I could go on and on . . but I think you get the message.  Most of us are quite blessed, even much more than just once a day!  How many of us really see all the ways which we are blessed and are thankful for those many blessings? 

Life’s greatest joy is in learning to appreciate all the richness of blessings we receive, including love; experiencing beauty; knowing joy, feeling wellness of body, mind and spirit; learning things; having relationships with others; tasting the fruits of the earth’s bounty; and living full, productive lives, not to mention God and the Holy Spirit.  Being thankful is the key to realizing how rich you are in life.  Most of us have so many reasons to celebrate life each day if we just choose to become focused on blessings, to see them, to know them in our lives.  Don’t miss the chance to alter your life by experiencing gratitude each day.  There are always things to be grateful for, in and about!  You are blessed, never waiver a day feeling ungrateful and without blessings.  If you take a magnifying lens to your life, you will notice in great detail, the many ways in which you were blessed today!

Definitive’s In Life

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Life

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Joy, Life

Definitive’s In Life

Lately I’ve had some reminders of definitive’s in life, taking delight in watching a young girl discover misters in Phoenix, her pleasure in the feeling of the cool light spray of water as it hit her skin all while she laughed with such sheer joy! On the plane, I watched a small child celebrate the flow of air coming out of the overhead vent as it blew her hair about. The last few days seeing children & adults find their inner youthful exuberance reborn through play in the water, on ziplines, in all sorts of endeavors meant to ignite their sense of exploration, their desire to find joy in tasting life!

I am reminded that life is to be lived to the fullest & I feel sorrow for those who are unable to find simple pleasure in places even common & even the simplest things, for our joy is found within, it comes from a place inside which knows how to be a child at the right times, but also how to connect with that inner spirit of joy at surprising moments within our days! No matter your place, if you are not finding joy in your days, you’re not feeling it first within!

Fruits of the Spirit

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Uncategorized

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Faithfulness, Gentleness, Goodness, Joy, Kindness, Love, Patience, Peace, Self-Control

Fruits of the Spirit

Love, joy, faithfulness, self-control, gentleness, patience, kindness, peace & goodness are the fruits of our spirit given to us by God in  ample measure. He just wants us to take these fruits & develop a character of consistency in our ability to reflect these fruits in our daily lives.

A great message today by Joyce Meyer! Our “job” is to be the fullness of all these things in every aspect of our lives! This is our task in maturing, for we then become consistent reflections of the fruits of our spirit, which is then to become most like God! We learn how to tap into these fruits as we live our lives by trial, by test, by deciding we shall build each to full strength within us. Each one of us fully filled & mature in these spirits would reflect a world of Godly people who truly are living reflections of what all that means! Imagine that world!

Moments of Reflection

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Uncategorized

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Joy, Pain

Moments of Reflection

Sometimes in life, what was once the best thing becomes the most painful. What once gave you joy now brings you sorrow, what was once your shining time is now your memory, what once brought you so much contentment & peace now makes you fearful & filled with doubt. It is inevitable that we will experience events which are capable of altering our perspective, but it always up to us as to how we react in the long term.

If we realize that something good became something bad, then surely we can see how something bad can then again become something better! Look at the aspects of how you can learn from every scenario, making the most of the moments of reflection in the change, then seize upon the wealth of that lesson & move forward knowing that all will once again be changing. Life events are like the changing currents of wind in the sails of a sailboat . . we need to be flexible, we need to appraise our position upon the prevailing conditions & we need to be able to adapt as best as we can to what we encounter! Then we need to proceed into life with expectation & faith!

Conquering…

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in God, Happiness, Life

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God, Happiness, Joy, Life

Conquering…

Life is not easy . . we reach stages in our lives when things happen which we simply do not understand, nor have answers for, which test our self-confidence or take hostage our self-esteem.  We feel challenged and pinned up against a wall, immovable and often incapable of progress.  When in these states, we often feel completely out of control, unworthy and stressed to a high level.  It might be a personal problem with a close associate or loved one; it might be from health issues we seemingly cannot resolve to our own satisfaction; we might be beleaguered by conflicts in our work, our home life, our personal relationships or elsewhere; or perhaps we are just aging and feel uncertain how our lives will pan out, how our dreams will be realized.

 Life is not easy, it demands our attention and perseverance to make the best choices, to examine our options and to be true to our own internal spiritual needs.  We must live in tune with many varying factors for our lives to be sensical and for us to deem them successful in the end.  When even one part of our life is out of tune, we notice a sour note played out in the way we appreciate things . . some of our joy is waning, our happiness is not guaranteed, we are more stressed and we struggle more against the currents of our daily endeavors.  Even one choice made erroneously, against what we deem essential for the happiness and contentment of our spirits, can leave us burdened with troubles! 

Knowing what makes you happy is key.  First of all, knowing that only you can be responsible for your own happiness is even more essential in life!  It is no one else’s job to make you happy, to cause your happiness, nor to decide what things in life will lead to your happiness.  Only you, with your consult in God, can make those determinations!  Learn to listen to the internal nudges and proddings which are your instincts.  They are often the best way to heed the real desires of your heart, no one else need convince you of their viewpoint . . only your desires matter after all, it’s your life!  Learn to trust your judgment as it is always the case that a wrong choice, or a choice which weakens your spirit, goes against God’s will or isn’t in your best interests will spike an instinctual call to make a different choice, or at the very least, to correct a poor prior choice!

 We are our own best advocates . . we know what it is that we need, want and what is best for us.  Learning to keep that in the forefront of our minds when making all decisions always assures that we will not make wrong decisions.  It’s okay to say no, to not do what others ask, to be so concerned about the state of your own spirit, that not doing something is the way to go!  Listen with a more alert heart to what makes you spirit content, that is what you should always do!  It is true that you always know in your own “gut” what is right or wrong, it’s instinctual, you feel it! 

The other way to conquer all your issues is to find a peaceful way to be calm when making decisions, when thinking and deliberating on something, and when you are pondering outcomes.  I choose to seek God’s counsel, for I always think He is leading me in the best way possible, knowing the best course for me, and He is always with me wherever I go.  Without my prayerful contemplation on everything throughout my day, I would be lost!  I ask Him for His grace, His favor, His direction and His loving compassion through each part of my day, every day.  I rely on Him, as He is my Shepherd.  Faith allows me to make that most easy decision to trust in God for all things I need and all that I must do.  It’s as simple as deciding that the way off the cliff each day is the way of faith!  As for our struggles, each one of us has them and must overcome them throughout life.  We haven’t exemptions from struggles.  When I’ve been overwhelmed and clearly befuddled by mine, I find that the most obvious reminder that I need God for everything!  I am incapable of doing and being anything without Him.  I am literally a lost sheep without the voice of the Master.  

Trusting in your Spirit’s communication, which comes through the instincts you sense, is the best way to know that you are keeping on the right path, making the right moves and following in God’s will for your life.  Anything else, and you will feel it as a gnawing in your own gut!  Pay attention, all the signals you need are there!  Just listen to the active voice of the Spirit within you.  It never steers you in the wrong direction.  If you make a wrong turn, listen anew and heed the best way to make the situation work out for your behalf!  It’s never wrong to turn it over to Him!

IT'S IN THE SIMPLE MOMENTS

13 Wednesday Oct 2010

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Uncategorized

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Appreciation, Beauty, Contentment, Faith, Joy, Peace

IT’S IN THE SIMPLE MOMENTS

 

It is in the simplest moments when our lives are truly definable.  We can either find our peace, by finding our joy, our spirit’s contentment, our live’s fulfillment . . .or we can deny ourselves all of this by living as slaves to time, to modern society’s expectations upon our lives, and by forgetting to stop along our daily pathways to just be.

Just by being in our lives, we can heal many holes which can rip us apart.  We are not victims unless we allow ourselves to be defined that way.  We should refute that label and instead gladly wear the title of human being.  It sounds like we are already wearing that title, but most of us, particularly in the USA, have forgotten how to have simple daily moments of nothingness.  Nothingness is good.  It is more than alright to let a day pass with time spent doing nothing but being.  It is called nothingness, but in truth, it is the most productive posture our spirits can assume in life.  Nothingness means that we are able to stop and smell the roses, taking time to look up into the clouds for their most noticeable formations, and to wile away hours not doing a single thing other than just being.

What are the best simple moments you have had?  Mine are always in nature . . . with a few exceptions included.  But for the most part, I enjoy the simple moments when I am looking or being a part of nature’s great array of beauty and variation.  I truly like stopping to smell the roses!  All flowers, animals, clouds, plants, scenes of nature, and anything which inspires my creative soul is like a meditative time when I partake of its view.  If I see a plant in bloom, like a rose bush for instance, I am drawn to it like metal to a magnet.  It is my nature to scan my surroundings no matter where I go to look for nature’s finest source of joyous beauty!  It is my interest which claims my attention!  The only other moments which rival nature’s hold upon my attentions is when I am with my loved ones and friends.  In those times, life can seem to stand still.  It often happens that the hours spent doing what I love with someone I love precludes my ability to notice time at all.  I am lost . . . like time becomes a sea and my life floats by unendingly!                                                      

No matter what motivates you and your spirit when seeking the simplicity of life, I hope you will deem it a worthy endeavor.  Never lose your ability to stop and partake of life . . . living each day surely, but also just being!  Life is a beautiful banquet of experience, stop and enjoy it!  Don’t let life pass you by, it is a priceless gift to stop in your endeavors and notice life happening all around you!  Some of the richest moments we can have will come from the world quietly happening around us.  Have faith, live life simply and with appreciation for all the joy you are finding in the small, quiet moments of life!

 

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