Living Happiness

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
~William Arthur Ward

Every Sunday on Living Happiness, we focus on the joy-giving, life-giving moments in our lives by sharing them with others shouting them out to the world. This week, I asked my readers and Facebook friends:

What moments have brought you the most joy this week?

Here’s how they responded:

1.  Watching a child wake up, red shoes with white spots, the courage of a friend, holding a little hand in mine, and my husband turning the heater on for me in the morning. ~Claire, Gratitude Connection

2.  Yesterday, we went to a “Concert on the Green” hosted by Ben & Jerry’s … which meant free ice cream all day! The neat part, though, was that it was a bluegrass festival (which is a very Southern thing) in Vermont of all places! All the bands kept saying they’d never played up this far north, and they were super well-received, with standing ovations and calls for encores. It was a lovely North meets South moment on a beautiful, sunny day. ~Lisis Blackston

3. Discovering a new musical artist (Missy Higgins from Australia) and really loving her music. ~Lance Ekum, Jungle of Life

4.  Having fellowship with old friends because without friends life would be dull and boring. ~Paulette “Sal” Nall

5.  Two years with my boyfriend, G, on the 5th! Who’d have ever thunk?! ~Kelly Nebeker

6.  Getting advanced! ~Jessica Williford

7.  Having my 4 year old read me a book!!! How awesome! ~Shelley Doolittle Bowers

8.  Being with family and going antique shopping together! ~Julia Haddock Nofsinger

9. Just today I had a Carolina Bluebird stop by our bird house (built by a friend just for bluebirds). It’s the first one I have seen since I don’t know when. Am hoping for it to use the house as a nest. ~Carolyn Cummins

And here’s what brought me joy:

10.  Walking to the supermarket with my husband on a cloudy afternoon

11.  Laughing in the bed with him over something he had done

12. Chatting with a girlfriend on a sunny afternoon by the  pool

13.  Receiving a real letter in the mail from a friend’s son in the States

14.  Hearing from some of my very first students at my very first school in Greece

15.  Sipping my morning tea with the kitty cat who now comes and sits with me in the mornings after her meal

16.  Making new blogger friends ~ there are so many of you and you’re so wonderful!  Deepest thoughts today to Karen Wallace of The Calm Space – wishing you and your family peace.

17.  Appreciating older ones ~ a special shout out to Sara Healy of The Sharing Connection – I hope you’re recovering from your surgery, love.

What about you?

What moments (or people) have brought you the most joy this past week?

Your sharing is more than welcomed.

Abundantly and peacefully,

or follow Living Happiness on Facebook.

Photo Credit D Sharon Pruitt

Bows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
~Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now

What do the clouds look like where you are today? Are they billowy, fluffy balls of cotton? Wisps of fairy floss high in the sky? Or armed giants come to wipe out the sun and bring torrents of rain? Or … have you noticed them at all?

The clouds here today are little toddlers on the horizon, peering up at the big blue sky and not sure if they are allowed to jump onto its big bed and play. I am secretly hoping they are allowed to jump around a bit and make big nuisances of themselves, but I fear I do not get a say in the matter.

Clouds have been cropping up for me all week: in the posts of online friends, in a morning newsletter, and even actually in another post of my own. It seems that, though wispy little things they are, they are definitely trying to get my attention.

And I think the reason is this: They want me to slow down. They want me to dream a little.

So, on this fabulous Friday (which I truly hope it is in your part of the world), I am going to ask you to do one simple, easy-peasy thing for me today … if you don’t mind: Would you go outside today and look at the clouds?

You can do it from your porch, from your front door, from the back garden, from the seat of your car. And if your clouds are behaving and you’re really feeling dreamy, you can do it lying in the grass. Maybe on a blanket. Maybe with a friend.

We’ve all occasionally forgotten what it is to stop and change our perspective. It’s amazing how different things look when we’re lying flat on our backs, looking up into infinity.

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. ~J. Lubbock

Happy Friday, everyone!

Clouds love to shape-shift and transform themselves.

What shapes do the clouds take for you today?

In what ways would you too like to shape-shift and/or transform your life?

What did you see when you looked up into infinity?

Your comments are welcome.

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