10 moments of joy - lifted from staxxy
I've been so busy lately that I sometimes forget to focus on joy. Joy is the foundation that I try to build my life on, the closest thing to a religion that I practice. This meme was a nice reminder of that. Here are just 10 items on a long list of the things that bring me joy.
1) My tribe. The core members, of course - Maxx, Russell, Amy, Kim - but also the "extended family", and the ones who are beginning to be that. I find self-deprecation alarmingly easy, but if I even remotely deserve the friends that I have, then I must be doing all right. :)
2) Getting to put my talents to use in ways that I feel good about. School is one example of that. Editing for Aubrey is another. Making hot, connected porn, talking to students about alternative sexuality - all the things that I get to do that feel like they change the world for the better.
3) My animal companions - even though Maus is a stripey wretch who pees on things and tapdances on our heads at night.
4) Dandelions. They're bright, persistant, and useful, which are some of the qualities that I strive for in my life.
5) Playing. Not the SM sort, necessarily, though it sometimes falls into this broader catagory. Just doing silly things for no reason other than the happiness they bring.
6) Reading a well-written story, or phrase, or description. This is my one true addiction. I'm a junkie for the written word. I love the way books feel in my hands, they way they smell. I love being completely immersed in another world. I love staying up way too late because I just can't bear to put a story down yet. I love the way that my shelves overflow with books, how they end up stacked on every flat surface. I love that there is nowhere in my home that does not have a book or several within easy arm's reach.
7) Heavy weather. Intense thunderstorms in particular. We don't get many of those here, which just makes me appreciate them even more. I get so wired, so awake, so...something I don't have words for, when the skies open up and lightning cracks and the winds rise. Don't get me wrong, I adore mild, breezy, sunny days too, but they don't give me the rush that storms do.
8) Water. Being near it, or especially being in it. I'm more at home swimming than I am on dry land. It's the weightlessness, and the silken embrace, and the joy of doing something that I do very well. It's playing and communing all at once.
9) Fire. Fire fascinates me. I love watching it dance and whirl, I love how barely contained its dangers are. It scares that part of me that loves being scared and it satisfies my need for beauty.
10) Touch. Affectionate touch, sexual touch, comforting touch, exploratory touch. Not just the touch of other people, though that's a big part of it. I love the way things feel. I'm such a small child that way. My mother used to tell me, "Look with your eyes, not with your hands." That was seriously futile parental advice. I don't feel like I've truly seen a physical thing if I haven't gotten to put my hands on it.
1) My tribe. The core members, of course - Maxx, Russell, Amy, Kim - but also the "extended family", and the ones who are beginning to be that. I find self-deprecation alarmingly easy, but if I even remotely deserve the friends that I have, then I must be doing all right. :)
2) Getting to put my talents to use in ways that I feel good about. School is one example of that. Editing for Aubrey is another. Making hot, connected porn, talking to students about alternative sexuality - all the things that I get to do that feel like they change the world for the better.
3) My animal companions - even though Maus is a stripey wretch who pees on things and tapdances on our heads at night.
4) Dandelions. They're bright, persistant, and useful, which are some of the qualities that I strive for in my life.
5) Playing. Not the SM sort, necessarily, though it sometimes falls into this broader catagory. Just doing silly things for no reason other than the happiness they bring.
6) Reading a well-written story, or phrase, or description. This is my one true addiction. I'm a junkie for the written word. I love the way books feel in my hands, they way they smell. I love being completely immersed in another world. I love staying up way too late because I just can't bear to put a story down yet. I love the way that my shelves overflow with books, how they end up stacked on every flat surface. I love that there is nowhere in my home that does not have a book or several within easy arm's reach.
7) Heavy weather. Intense thunderstorms in particular. We don't get many of those here, which just makes me appreciate them even more. I get so wired, so awake, so...something I don't have words for, when the skies open up and lightning cracks and the winds rise. Don't get me wrong, I adore mild, breezy, sunny days too, but they don't give me the rush that storms do.
8) Water. Being near it, or especially being in it. I'm more at home swimming than I am on dry land. It's the weightlessness, and the silken embrace, and the joy of doing something that I do very well. It's playing and communing all at once.
9) Fire. Fire fascinates me. I love watching it dance and whirl, I love how barely contained its dangers are. It scares that part of me that loves being scared and it satisfies my need for beauty.
10) Touch. Affectionate touch, sexual touch, comforting touch, exploratory touch. Not just the touch of other people, though that's a big part of it. I love the way things feel. I'm such a small child that way. My mother used to tell me, "Look with your eyes, not with your hands." That was seriously futile parental advice. I don't feel like I've truly seen a physical thing if I haven't gotten to put my hands on it.