The Joy of Being with a True Community Builder
What a joy to hang out with Pamela Slim and see her beautiful space K’e where she invites and inspires the community. So grateful for our time together!
I left this card for my friend Pamela, who has been so kind and generous to host me in her home, invite me to so many joyful events, and give so much to her community.
Pam, I love how AWESOME you are!
I’m definitely going to need to restock on these Awesome cards from Cathey Armillas when I get back to Portland.
Throughout my first 8 weeks on the road for my #JoyfulLivingProject tour, I’ve given so many of these out to kind, generous, thoughtful, passionate people. Those who have made a positive impact in my day.
I’ve also given stacks of these to other #JoyAmbassadors to share with others.
In some ways, it’s like giving out candy for #Halloween but instead, it’s emotional candy and every day. How fun is that!
A Path to Joy: Shifting from Anger to Kindness
Waking up this morning, I felt like I got punched in the gut. Seeing the news about our government considering ending birthright citizenship made me feel sick.
I rarely chime in on political issues here, but I am very much aware of and feel the stress of what’s going on around us. As an immigrant who’s family came to America 40 years ago and became legal citizens and actively contributed to our community and country, this really hits home. There are a lot of good people doing good things.
Instead of getting angry and engaging in negative grievances, I decided to walk my talk this morning.
I am on an 18-month mission called the #JoyfulLivingProject to inspire joy and remind people of all the good and good people around us despite all the negativity.
My invitation is to step into kindness, connection, compassion, generosity, and gratitude. It’s not about ignoring what’s going on, but instead, take ownership of our life experiences.
My choice today was to practice a gift of joy, kindness, and generosity instead of stewing on the news I saw. Editing some video while at Starbucks, I remembered my friend’s favorite drink, a Strawberry Acai. So I shifted my intention and focus on how I can surprise her with a simple gift of Kindness for her and myself. #JoyfulJoe and I order one of these to bring to my friend.
This instantly changed my mood and sent me down a more joyful path for the day.
If you are feeling triggered with negativity, what simple act of kindness, gratitude, or joy can you share with someone (including yourself) to shift your focus?
Let me know how doing so made you feel.
For me, true joy can only come with the acknowledgement of our shadows and the willingness to be present with uncomfortable or unpleasant feelings. I think your work as a promoter of joy will be all the more powerful if you could consider that political activism is basically an act of kindness on the grandest scale. Getting involved in the fight for human rights is the pathway to authentic joy, though there may be other emotions involved (grief, anger, sadness). While I can appreciate your approach to cheering yourself up through a small act of service and consideration for another, and I appreciate the culture change you are trying to inspire through that, it’s so important to acknowledge that we have to get engaged with these important issues and not just cheer ourselves up and try to ignore them. So my question for your project: how can we joyfully get politically engaged?
