I don't know about you, but I love the moments in a day when I see, or hear, or feel or taste something that makes me stop and think how lucky I am to experience it. I'm a huge believer in mindfulness, in being aware of what's around us rather than just living in our own thoughts. Being in those moments, making a conscious effort to find them, is a powerful pathway to achieving happiness.
I'd love to share with you some moments (other than the obvious of loved ones and friends) that have made my heart smile.
Taking A Good Photo - I love photography and when I manage to take a picture that pleases my eye, it also pleases my heart. Because it looks good and because I did it. Inevitably it will have taken many discarded efforts to get the one good result, but that I got there is exciting. The ones I like best aren't necessarily anything others would find fabulous, but they please my eye.
Dancing - I've danced all my life. Mainly ballet, but also jazz, tap, ballroom, Latvian folk and belly dance. Love it all. Moving to music is instinctive for me and whether it's going to my weekly adult ballet class, or prancing around the house while I dust, dancing will always make me feel good. Always. I'm so thankful that mum sent me to ballet classes when I was 8 and that I inherited her love of dancing. I can't imagine my life without it and it makes my heart (and my body) smile. Writing - obviously. Yes, it's torturous and disheartening at times, but once the words are on the paper (even when they're bad), the sense of achievement and a need satisfied is worth all the angst. Writing is also something I've done from a young age and something that has stayed with me over the years. You don't persist with things for decades if they don't feed your soul. Or you shouldn't. If I could write and dance at the same time, life would be amazing lol
I learned to type, and wrote my first stories
on a typewriter like this!
3 comments:
Andra - this post made me want to get up and dance. I often dance to relieve the stress of sitting at the computer and it frees up my mind to think. I DO NOT dance in public. Too uncoordinated and self- conscious :-) ) Loved the photo of the Zebra (I assume that is what it is). It is a fascinating view. One thing I've always wanted to learn how to do - take an artistic shot. Well done!
Wow, Deb - I looked at that picture and zebra never crossed my mind until I read your comment! Andra, love this post and the variety of creativity that touches you. And while I did not write any of my books on a typewriter of that vintage, it sure looks like the one I learned to type on in high school - and not very successfully I confess.
I loved your photos and your examples of things that make your heart smile. The one that touched me most was the feeling of sunshine on your shoulders. That is huge to me, particularly when it happens during winter. I day or a few hours of respite from the cold is an entire body experience.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts and pictures.
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