I received this beautiful text the other day from a friend of mine. It reminded me just how much we indeed do make a difference in each others lives…AND what pure joy and gratitude look like, as well. 🙂
“Hi Mandy~ it was so nice to have an impromptu chat with you Saturday night. This was the post I put up on my Facebook page a week ago that I told you about. It was in response to an incredible string of days in which truly fabulous people moved in and out of my days creating an upward spiral of incredible joy. I wanted to share this post with you because you are one of those wonderful people I experience in ways that transcend the on the ground appearances of our friendship. I am truly grateful for the openness of our conversations and look forward to our next time together whenever that might be. This is what infinite and contagious joy looks like to me.”
And here is what he wrote…
“I woke up already walking on cloud nine full of joy and gratitude for the people in my life. You know one of those 100% days when everything is just the best. And then I went to dance with friends and the joy in my day just went off the charts. Not 110% but something transformative. I think this is what infinite joy feels like. I want to bottle it, save it for a rainy day. This joy is from the fabulous people who cross my path each day as well as the joyous memories of those who don’t. Loving this pinch me I must be dreaming and upward spiral to living our best lives. The Love and Joy people bring us in life is not pie, it’s infinite and these days I am experiencing that living our best lives truth even if our time IS like pie, only so many hours in a day, only so many days left. My plan is to have no regrets and live my best life each and every day. Loving those of you who are joining me in making it so. Thank y’all for making each day so fabulous.”
Mark’s words are so incredibly beautiful and inspiring to me!!! I feel that he is living his best life and appreciating and finding ALL of the joy in the simple things that he has in his life as well as all of the people in his life (present and past) that bring him that amazing joy! 🙂
Some of you may know that John and I have a nightly dinner time ritual. We share and celebrate what and who we are grateful for in that day. We also celebrate and toast those who are no longer with us. It’s a very special and important part of our day! And honestly, I would feel sad and incomplete if it were to go away. It truly helps to ground me…allowing me with each and every gratitude to see a little more clearly just how much beauty and joy I have in my life and just how much I truly have to be grateful for. 🙂
Sometimes I ask a very pointed question and sometimes not…This time around I have questions… What are your thoughts on what I’ve shared? Your thoughts on Mark’s post? Your thoughts on our nightly ritual? Your thoughts on joy and gratitude? I would LOVE to know…Please don’t be shy!!! 🙂
Joy & Love,
Goddess Mandy 🙂 XO
Gratitude for this thought provoking post. Mark seems to be in a good space to aspire to. Waking up joyful, surrounded by an accepting and caring community could be the destination I am seeking on my journey.
Yet, i would be remiss to not ensure You feel my gratitude for You being such a supportive pillar in my very small community after my world imploded. Your loving care has nurtured me into a more confident person of worth and value. Allowing me to proceed on my on journey of reconnecting with good friends from the past and seeking new ones.
It has been a long odyssey to shift my paradigms from a dour my glass is half empty to being grateful for now appreciating what I have in the midst of Mother Earth’s beautiful places.
Perhaps some day, I will have access to a community as supportive like Mark’s, but until I do, I will be grateful to You, and a few select of Your co-workers, for providing my support system through the hard times. Now, I can appreciate what I have in this moment and not worry about past actions I can only learn from, or a future that is random.
Gratitude to You for assisting me so much on my journey as my friend and Goddess. It is nice to experience moments of joy and wonder to be present in at this point in my life.
i am glad You shared Your nightly ritual with Your other fans.
Wow…your words are just so beautiful and thoughtful, kneel. Thank you so much for appreciating Me AND appreciating just how much you’ve grown and healed on your journey to perhaps finding that accepting and caring community. As you know, John and I have likely found this type of community and it is indeed quite beautiful in so many ways! 🙂