Life is a series of moments embedded with Joy

Our lives are a series of moments which turn into memories and lessons and insights that become embedded within us. Joy is spread through those memories. 

Celebrate the tiny things that bring you Joy on 25th November every year.
But maybe it would be cool to celebrate Joy whenever we think about it or experience it.

Beauty Unrecognised: JoyDay

#shiftazine and a street surprise. #lookaroundyou #rubbishthatain’t #beautyunrecognised #Joyday.

Yes its here. That important day of the year where joy is your main consideration.
A piece of plastic from a construction site caught on some barbed wire, shredded and dancing in the wind.
Beautiful.
Joyful.
A street surprise.
It is ever present in out urban lives.

JoyDay: 25th November...every year.

JoyDay is coming: 25th November

JoyDay is coming on the 25th of November, and as always
the key thing to remember for that day, is to celebrate
the tiny or maybe big things that bring you joy.

We focus on the negative too much (I am guilty of that) but
it is the recognised, and sometimes unrecognised, joys that surround us which can 
bring a healthy, happy boost to our lives.

This image is a shadow play I recorded in Melbourne a few years back.
I loved the image but just did not know what it was that delighted me about it.
Then I realised, it was the range of hues and tones within the shadows that
spoke to me.

So have a look into the shadows (a good thing to do from time to time anyway),
and find the surprising colours within.

A small joy but joy is joy.

JoyDay: Stuff that sticks in my head and heart

Sometimes its all the little details that make a place or an experience memorable.

The colour of the coffee cup ,
the wallism outside,
the music that was playing.

Just stuff that sticks in
your head and your heart.

Enjoy every moment.

Celebrate all the things that bring you Joy, even little things, on JoyDay, 25th November every year.

Pat a pup today (please).

Puppies, and by that I mean, all dogs, rock.
Love factories, they be.
So say hello to any and all dogs that may enter your day.
It is a nice gesture on our part to recognise their worth and value.

They are the epitome of JOYDAY.

The lightness of life

The joy of that soft Summer light that fills a room early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

The glow that is absorbed within.

A small gift from Shiftazine to you at this time of year...Sydney light.

Its JoyDay again!

It is JoyDay again.
This is the 7th year that it has been celebrated.

There are many things that bring shiftazine joy...many things, but on reflection it is being loved and having the opportunity to love that brings the greatest Joy.

So with that in mind, it was truly appropriate to celebrate my dear bark-angel Jack.
The great bringer of Joy and love.

This post is six years old but the inspiration for it and the contents in it have not a fade, even a tiny bit.

Celebrate the things, even the tiny ones, that bring you Joy, the 25th November.

A beginning...

“Let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close.”

 John Ruskin, The Two Paths

There is something about early morning light that delights every time one is in it. That time of the day is still, and empty, but at the same time full of possibilities.

Early morning walk in Spring. Redfern Oval, Redfern, Sydney, Australia.

JoyDay_The essentials we pack into our lives

A friend of mine, now gone to heaven, once said to me “you pack your issues in your suitcase”. I guess that is why they call it “baggage”. 

Our baggage can be filled with issues of a negative tilt, but it can also be full of the things that bring us joy.
The things that have define us from a positive aspect: the love, and comfort, and connection and memories that we have accumulated over our time travelling
through life on this moral coil.

A word association I played with for this article went like this.
SUITCASE: bag, travel, clothes, heavy, leather, wheels, lock, airport, school books, travel tag, full, movement, set, combination, open up, ownership, stuff (personal),
needed, required, useful, all I need, caring, pulling, holding, keep close, essentials.

CHERISHED: toys, pets, soft, old, comfort, attached, kisses, hugs, needed, all I need, keep close,
full of love, full, holding, carrying, essentials.

So it seems to me that the key word is 'essential'. 

Reflect on what is essential to you and you will find that its the things that bring you JOY.
JoyDay, every 25th November, every year...

Every dog has their day

Every dog has their day, and today is that day.

National Dog Day.

On the 29th of June.

So pat a pup, say hello and enjoy our sweet canine citizens and friends.

They are the great bringers of JOY.

Remember to celebrate JOYDAY on the 25th November every year.

This is my Mandy (the name came with her). I adopted her 3 years ago when she was already 6 years old. She is a darling girl, although not too bright, she has a capacity for love that is limitless.

I haven't much time to be fond of anything...

My bark angel Alex, rose patterned plastic tablecloth covers, and Victorian lithographs are three things that bring me Joy. 

Remember to celebrate the things that bring you joy, no matter how small on JoyDay, the 25th November every year.
“I haven't much time to be fond of anything ... but when I have  a moment's fondness to bestow, most times ... the roses get it. 

Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone http://www.goodreads.com/

One word says it all

One word says it all...

A recipe for a 'good life' moment

The notion of the good life comes in many forms. (We are lucky enough to even have that option.)

As Summer finally rolls out in front of us (in the great Southern land), relaxed thoughts about the little things or moments that brings joy to one's life surface.

Here are the ingredients for a shiftazine 'good life' moment : 

A bottle of Tanqueray Gin,

a fresh lemon and a lime,

a bucket of ice cubes,

some chilled tonic,

simple but well designed glasses,

a friend,

a great conversation,

a sunny late afternoon,

some bossa nova playing,

and that’s about it.

Sparkling

Crystal clear and cooling on the hot, bright days, the sparkling water always amps up the JOY of Summer. 
Celebrate the tiny things that bring you JOY, every day, but especially on JOYDAY, 25th November, every year.

It's JOYDAY!

Old places, beautiful light, unexpected still lives bring me JOY.

It’s JOYDAY, so celebrate it by embracing those tiny things that bring you JOY.

JOYDAY

25th November

every year.