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Cultivating Joy



I am on an active search for
 Joy.

Last week on my bike ride through the hills
riding in the cool crisp air 
my legs working hard and strong
I felt like I was flying through nature.

And it came to me
slowly at first
deep in my heart
in the most physical of feelings.

I felt true joy.


I felt it in the same deep physical part of my heart
that recently
I have felt grief.

Yes
it was true grief
as my nest had finally emptied.
My heart hurt so bad
I often wished I could simply
take it out of my chest
just for a momentary reprieve  from the pain.

I know many people have mixed reactions when I speak of my grief 
over an empty nest. 
But for me it was my true emotion.


So  last week when
 joy
 came in just as strong
into my heart
it was 
a profound moment for me.

A moment 
when all the beauty of my life rushed in
almost overwhelming in it's intensity.



I savored this beautiful emotion.

Making a point of pushing it deep into my heart and soul
never to forget the feeling.

There is a lightness in my heart even this week
just pulling up the moments in my memory.

I have realized the importance of 
finding Joy
in our daily life



With more joy in my heart
I can find more beauty in life
and 
in others.
It feels like a different magnetic pull.
An energy that picks up beauty and good.

I have spent so much of my life
defining myself by my accomplishments
or
lack there of.

But this joy felt pure
and
 real.

And I want to learn to grow it
To find ways to tap into it.
To be able to cultivate joy
as a protective force
in the  management of the challenges of real life.


Cultivating joy doesn't even have to be done in big
first class ways.
But just as effectively in small ways.
The sheer beauty of a single flower.
A quiet cup of coffee.
An organized room.
Savoring a sunrise or sunset


Moving in nature
whether riding, walking, ocean kayaking or surfing.
is always for me   a connection
to a higher power.


I want to cultivate joy in my life
so I can pull it up
on darker days.

I want to cultivate more joy in my heart
so 
I have less room for focusing on 
the sad things in my life
Things or situations
that I can neither
 change or control.


I want to learn to to find solace and joy
even in life's storms.

For me true joy
feels like a solemn prayer
a connection to all that is good.

The higher power.

A lightness of being.


I will be adding
cultivating joy
to my daily ritual
of gratitude.

Taking the time to reframe my life
in the morning
is the surest way
to live my day in beauty and joy.

For me
cultivating
Joy
will need to be a learned skill
that I remember
to incorporate into my daily life.

A protective force
to help manage my day to day
in gratitude and beauty.


As always my friends

I wish you love and joy
as you style your life.










8 comments:

  1. An interesting post, Tamara, and with gorgeous photography as always.Though in no way as eloquently as you, I've been thinking recently about capturing pictures in one's mind to use as inspiration, motivation or solace in difficult times. A sort of picky bank! Sometimes those difficult times can be a cold winter's day or waking up from a bad dream. But we can source whatever we need from deep inside to give us succour. And I'm sure that now having found your pot of pure joy it will be a sublime source of comfort to tap into in the months ahead. I wish you well, I wish you joy!

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  2. Visually beautiful and eloquently poetic ❤️

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  3. You are a woman after my own heart dear Tamara. Joy is my byword, my hashtag, my default setting. In this life of turmoil and grief, battles and hurricanes, I feel duty bound to find joy in my life every single day. This is why I start my mornings with a cold sea swim in the atlantic ocean that laps around the tiny island where I live. It replenishes me, cleanes me, and reconnects me with the ultimate power. I too, know the grief of the empty nest syndrome - it's why I started my blog - to fill the gnawing gap left behind. And to a small extent it has helped to give me a new focus.
    I so love your writing, almost as much as your adorable outfits. You are a delight to behold, my dear. Forge on in the name of joy, in the name of love, for the greatest and highest good - be you and be loved x
    Anna
    www.annasislandstyle.com

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  4. Joy and sorrow--two faces of the same coin! Thank you for gifting us with your heartfelt striving.

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  5. A heartfelt beautiful post, Tamera ~ I wish you much love and joy too ~ kindness and happiness open our soul. xx

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  6. What a pleasure to read and view. You are to be commended for opening yourself up to us all. I certainly do appreciate thoughts. Your visuals are just a treat. Thank you.

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  7. I rode my bike yesterday and, as always, when the air rushes past and I speed down a hill or meander along a lane, I feel that same joy and exhilaration as you expressed above. My children have been gone from the nest for (the eldest nearly 20 years, youngest 18 years) a long time now but I still miss them sorely. They both live in different cities, 5 and a half and six and a half hours drive away and when we've been together for a weekend, I still cry as I say "I don't like it when they go" and feel empty, empty...but then turn my face to the life we now have, just two of us, with memories galore and love in our hearts for them and our grandchildren and our two beautiful girls (their wives). Thank you, Tamera, for your beautiful words, gorgeous photos and as always, your blog full of richness and beauty. xx

    https://fabulousageing.blogspot.com.au/

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  8. A beautifully written , honest post about a subject close to many Mothers hearts. As our children leave the nest to fulfill their own lives it is so natural to feel a sense of loss as well as pride in the adults they now are.
    Cultivating joy and finding the tools to achieve this can take time , be gentle on yourself.
    Sending you my best wishes, Jill.

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