I was looking at pictures I took downtown Washington, DC, on a beautiful spring day, with people dancing in the street. One of my kids wanted to know why people dance for no reason at all. Oh, daughter of mine,no one dances for no good reason. There’s dedication, discipline, exercise, showmanship, fun-fun-fun, and my favorite reason of all, for the pure joy of it.
Have you ever done something, just for the joy of it?
Sometimes, it can be the simple act of waking to a new day, seeing new flowers come up, the sweet smell of dinner cooking and you are not doing it; joy is truly an inner experience, something that gives you a feeling of contentment or a feeling of bliss. For me. Your joy may be different, yet, equally as wonderful.
Have you ever been surprised by something that secretly gave you joy, quite unexpectedly? The first time I jumped out of a plane. I expected terror at least, but, never the joy I felt. Exciting that I did it, but, it was the joy that surprised me.
As always with the new year come new opportunities, perhaps this will be the year to experience that, all over again. Off to a tedius start, but, my faith says that we ain't seen nothing yet I feel like this will be the time to blossom. New things have had two years to percolate and the coffee is ready, more than ready.
"Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you." Walt Whitman's quote reflects how our sense of optimism and pessimism can determine the outcomes.
Tonight, I feel the joy. Surrounded my family and reaching out and touching my friends today, I inhale the feeling, getting swept up in the passion of it all, the people, and that warm, enchanting ambiance of love.
May there always be a flower to color your world with love. #alwaysaflower And just like that, this post is over! Come back tomorrow and we will do it again. And please, always remember that kindness counts, wherever you are, whatever you do. Have a great night! See you in the comment section! Love to you always. Denise ❤️
All I have are my words, armed in my mind, written in pen, stand by stand. Oh, yes. Still by hand. It has a different feel. Altered not by keys, backspace, and delete, I write, erase, tear it to pieces and start all over again. And again.
It’s my way. I walk out to the deep end of the page and dive right in.
I know, it has nothing to do with joy or flowers. Sometimes, you just want to have a little bit of Fun. Yes?
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
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Thanks for the repost @pixresteemer! Much appreciated!
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You're welcome @dswigle, as you know, it's always a pleasure 😊🌹 We wish you a very nice day!
It's nice to see people dance instead of being caught up in misery like so many others.
Truth! Hey you! How have you been? Thanks for stopping by and leaving your words!
Up and down like everyone it seems. It's good to see you again.
The flowers are so vibrant and beautiful 🤩🤩
BTW, my son also asked me the same months ago. I replied something similar; because they are happy, they are feeling like celebrating and that's why dancing for fun.
:) Kids are alike, the world over, aren't they? It's true, a celebration of life to me. What better way to do it? It takes so little to be happy, but when I feel the joy?
Life just seems like it cannot get any better.
Thank you for your compliment on the flowers. @alwaysaflower for me!❤️
Dancing gives peace of mind and relieved stress,I'm not much of a dancer but when I do It's because of the fun of moving my body and appreciating the fact that I'm alive. Joy comes from within if only we could open up our hearts to it.
I agree that it relieves stress, and feeling the joy of being alive! Yes! I have never had trouble feeling the joy and it would make me feel sad to think that someone never gets to experience that.
It takes so little some days!
Hello @dswigle! Beautiful and inspiring words, as always. Must a joyful person smile every time? Joy is that emotion deep inside us that spread contentment all around us. I love dancing too; it's a joyful act.
😳 For real?! Woah! I would be really scared and doubt if I could attempt it. But I'm sure it was exhilarating! 😄
Thanks for sharing this lovely post. My day has start already. Good morning and have a great day! 😊
Mine ended two hours before you started. You got up early, I went to bed late! :)
Must you smile every time you feel joy? I don't think so, sometimes the joy is so overwhelming, I am not sure I am smiling. It might be that it is internal. The first time I jumped out of a plane? I was terrified! :) But, it was truly exhilarating!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your words! Have a great day!
I love music and dance Dancing makes a person feel good. Dancing calms the mind. This is a great exercise. All your words are honorable to us
Thank you. I agree with you! It is a great way to release some energy too!
Thank you! Have a great day!
I love flowers as well, especially the fragrance that comes from it. Any flowers that has a precious smell I stay close to such flowers.
Indeed joy is the inner experience of a human. I have experienced this inner joy before, so great.
Thank you @dswigle for this wonderful piece. It's really inspiring.
Thank you and I can tell you have experienced inner peace! Flowers give me the inner peace, their beauty, their perfume, the value they put into my life.
I hope you have had a good day!
I think you should make photography part of your daily work. They are so nice.
Well, all the pictures are always mine. Does that count?
Wao que flores tan preciosas y colores tan vibrantes, espero también algún día tener esa valentía de saltar de un avión 😉 muy hermoso tu escrito. 💖
Beautiful shots! I totally understand why you are thinking Spring after that weather front that just shoved through. I was in Ohio Sunday night heading home trying to stay ahead of it. It was crazy I got about an hour and a half outside Columbus and it was like a switch was flipped. Dry pavement and smooth sailing the rest of the way home!
What should have gone straight up and right through you took a turn oh, but I will tell you that it was nothing compared to what we got last week. Although, in so many ways it was worse because it wasn't so much snow as it was sleet after about 4 hours. So we ran outside and cleared so that when it started raining or sleeting are chances of having a sheet of ice would be less. Even this morning, because it was so much warmer yesterday, it froze again last night. That was fun this morning. I put skis on and just glided my way down the road. Thinking spring. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have an amazing day.
They were getting snow in the part of Ohio I was in. No big deal for this Michigan boy, but you never know what anyone else around you is going to do no matter how confident you are. I am glad it wasn't too horrible for you there. It looked like a monster on the radar.
Joy and happiness is something that comes from within . Dancing sure is a form of relaxation and an in-depth expression of gladness for no just reason.
Yes! I think you have that right. No reason at all. ;)
If you get that feeling, you must be right, @dswigle. This year... this will be the time to blossom!!!
I feel like this year will be ours, @silversaver888! Do you feel it?
Yep, yep!!!
I feel it!
Dancing is one of the things I enjoy most in life. For me, it is mainly a way to communicate my joy and happiness for life. I have been dancing since I was in my “mother's womb”, and dancing is encouraged in my culture. Since a very young age, we are encouraged to learn how to dance in family getting together and parties. They give us emotional rewards such as " That girl dances beautifully", "How well she dances! Applause" . These expressions are very common in the Latin culture, and we enjoy them. In general ,Dancing is a cultural expression that communicates several meanings in different cultures such as : gratitude, courtship, mourning, etc. I am fascinated by all dance expressions. Well, almost all of them (ha ha ha ). I try to understand the meaning they want to express. Very nice post. I wish everyone could understand that happiness is often in the simple things of life.
Truth isn't it? My sister-in-law is Mexican and yes, for sure! I loved in Texas for a couple of years, the culture is very slanted toward Spanish, and what a wonderful cultural exchange that was!
Music is life and dancing is music.
Simple things, always!
Oh yes I do quite often. For example I do my silly videos and posts. I get a lot more enjoyment from sharing than I ever get from the rewards! Fun can be found along the way to the destination.
I knew you would! :) Shhhh! Never admit to that! Rewards are not as fun, you would do it for free. I think you are right though. I would be here, paid of not. It is just that kind of place.
Thanks for stopping by!
I find somethingvery evocative about your writing. I feel like I can smell the flowers.