Tag: joy

Just Bloom

I’ve mentioned on the blog that I love my plants and jardinière. Yesterday evening, I looked over at my lovely figurehead lady, who has probably adorned our lanai for at least seven or eight years. (And in that time, she sure has weathered some storms.) She has housed a few different plants during all of these years, but never, ever, has her hat of flowers looked more fabulous and ornate and celebratory than right now. I smiled because it reminded me of a news story I read recently. An 82-year-old Oklahoma woman dressed up, and she wore a hat for her Zoom church meetings, 52 weeks in a row, during this terrible pandemic. Bloom where you are planted, right? We don’t always have a lot of control about what goes on all around us, but as we weather our storms, we do have a choice to do it in style and flair, and in hope.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/03/31/sunday-virtual-church-outfit/

Stylish woman dresses up for Zoom church every Sunday

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Find Your Stoke

The other day I was a little bit restless, perhaps a bit bored. I was flitting around from one thing to another, not really accomplishing anything. I was aggravated so I started poking into my family’s business, being annoying and relentless in the spreading of my agitation around like butter.

My youngest son (a senior in high school) said, “Mom, you need to find your stoke.”

“What the hell does that mean?” was my flash, edgy answer.

“Like Ralphie loves to swim.” ( Ralphie is our labrador retriever who thinks our pool is a daily dose of heaven provided for him, at the scratch of a door.) “You need to find what excites you today,” he said bluntly and correctly.

I think that is the funniest thing about kids growing up – the role reversal. How many times did I have to remind my kids to “find your stoke” by showing them their favorite toys or telling them to call their friends or even assigning chores for them to do?

Why is it so easy on some days to get lost in “your stoke” and other days to completely forget what excites you in the first place? Some days are so purpose-full and other days, your insides are screaming, “What’s my purpose?” I like it that I have raised centered kids who sometimes have to remind me to get balanced and centered, too. We all need that reminder from time to time.

“If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” – Bishop T.D. Jakes

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Harold Whitman