Friday, March 5, 2010

Passion and Joy

What do I feel passionately about? What makes my heart sing? Today I do one thing that brings me joy.

The question above comes from a month-long series of questions posed by Kathryn Antyr, the Collage Diva, on her True North Arts blog. I have been answering these questions on my own, and as I wrote today's answer, I thought, Hey, that's a blog entry! So here it is.

What do I feel passionately about? What makes my heart sing? Today I do one thing that brings me joy.

Right now, I feel passionately about fellow bloggers who can write about daily life in a way that makes my heart sing. Gigi received a gift—a beautifully wrapped, creatively wrapped gift. She photographed it and wrote about it in a way that just made me feel like I was right there with her as she opened it. The person who wrapped the gift, Sande, has a blog about gift wrapping (go figure!), and she writes about wrapping gifts in a way that makes me alternately think Hmm—maybe I should try doing this! and Oh, my goodness—these are exquisite—beyond anything a mere mortal could do. The gift wrapper also wrote about how important blogging is to her because expressing our words is what is most important. And when we express our words, someone will hear and respond. And this is what is important.

Reading these blogs nearly makes me weep. To think that these people exist, that they think like this, that they are willing to be who they are and then share that with the world. It makes me weep with joy, with relief, with recognition, with hope.

I want to be a part of this group. I feel the same way when I am with my Journal Group. As the women and lone man read, I think, Oh, I am so privileged to be in this group. Each person brings beauty, fun, freshness, and humor to our group. Each one is so different, yet in vital ways we are the same. We all love to write, love to share, love being able to say what is on our minds and in our hearts.

That sounds a lot like bloggers, doesn't it?

So, today, one thing I do that brings me joy is to read my favorite blogs. The three I mentioned above are just a small sampling of my favorites. Even the ones listed on my sidebar are a small sampling which needs updated. I encourage everyone to read and connect and enjoy—share what you can bring to the party—then we will all participate in the joy!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Well said, my dear, well said! I'm trying to be committed to making time for reading other blogs and you always encourage me in that. I know too, that as I read, I am encouraged in other ways as well. Thank you for this post!

Linda said...

Thank you, River, for reading and for commenting!

peterhelm said...

Very insightful! :] i feel the same way about journaling group! I am very privaleged to be a part of it and always look forward to going! Cant wait to see you next session! God bless!

Relyn Lawson said...

There is nothing quite like blogging is there?? I just wanted to stop in and say hello. Happy spring!

Gigi Thibodeau said...

Hi, Linda! I loved the comment that you left on my blog today, so I wanted to stop by and thank you. Then I got reading through your posts and realized that yo had written this one about the gift Sande sent me last spring. What you say about bloggers living and sharing their lives is exactly what made me want to blog in the first place and what keeps me coming back to reading and writing posts. I've been a writer and a teacher of writing for many years, but blogging adds a new and very important dimension to my writing life. I had no idea how many incredibly gifted and caring people were out there in the world doing their thing every day. I feel like blogging cracked my world wide open!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. I look forward to coming back and visiting you here.

Linda said...

Thank you to Peter, Relyn, and Gigi for stopping by and commenting. I see I'm a little late responding to Peter and Relyn! I apologize. And Gigi, I agree--so many wonderful and interesting people share their interests--and it is possible to find people who have interests just as varied and unusual as your own. I love that. It is like being able to read interactive magazines on any possible subject AND connecting with old friends that we've just met--all at the same time!