Joy and Celebration
I hope that a little time on this page will bring a smile to your face. Here you will see artwork stories that display a pursuit of joy . The buttons will link you to full stories.
Be Filled with Joy? Are you Kidding Me?
When Bill and I got married in the early 1980’s, his parents paid for us to have a honeymoon on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. I was young and adventurous, but I had never been anywhere. The time I had spent outside my home state could be counted in hours, and never more than one state away. Like Lucy in the movie of “While You Were Sleeping,” I had saved up and bought a passport, and carried it with me, but there were no stamps in it.
I still remember the feeling of stepping onto that 747 jet. I remember the feeling of being served my first real airline meal, and best of all, I remember arriving in Hawaii.
Taste and See
I’ve had many grocery store mangoes, even in Hawaii. But, when mango season rolls around, my mouth starts to water. There is NOTHING like a fresh ripe mango grown and picked right on Hawaii Island. Juice pours out as you cut it. The flesh is dark orange and soft with no strings and it’s so sweet it tastes better than candy.
There is a local farmer who sells about 15 different varieties at the farmer’s market. And she’ll tell you all the differences… this one is buttery, this one is more tangy, this one has a floral undertone, this one is the sweetest. Yes, it’s like going to a coffee bar or a wine bar.
Once you taste one, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The purity of a fresh, island-grown mango reminds me of experiencing joy in the midst of the mundane, even the struggles in life.
Have you lost this joy, or know someone struggling to find joy again? It happens to me all too frequently. Sometimes it’s because…
