Taking Back Joy

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I am reading Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and want to share what she has to say in her chapter, Taking Back Joy:

p. 99: “Allowing ourselves to be happy—accepting that it is okay to push through the guilt and seek joy—is a triumph over permanence. Having fun is a form of self-compassion; just as we need to be kind to ourselves when we make mistakes, we also need to be kind to ourselves by enjoying life when we can. Tragedy breaks down your door and takes you prisoner. To escape takes effort and energy. Seeking joy after facing adversity is taking back what was stolen from you.”

On p. 101, she goes onto say, “Paying attention to moments of joy takes effort because we are wired to focus on the negatives more than the positives. Bad events tend to have a stronger effect on us than good events.”

She suggests writing down 3 things each day that bring us joy. Yesterday, one of things I noted was the warm sun on my face as I sat outside reading. Another was the idyllic landscape where I hiked earlier in the day.

I highly recommend this book!

Shipment Saga

Shipment Saga

When I ordered an item from a department store, it was eligible for a price match, so the customer service representative entered my information.

I was tracking the package and it was due to arrive. I checked the porch before bed, and assumed it must just be late. In the morning, I found an email saying it had been delivered the night before.

Initially, I assumed it had been stolen from the porch. I called Customer Service and got a representative named Denise. While she was checking into things, I noticed that my address had been entered with only the last 2 digits of the 4 digit house number. It was then that I realized the package had been delivered about one mile north of where I live.

It was about 25 degrees and 7:30a.m. I told Denise that I would try to retrieve it.
Whipping my hair into a pony tail and throwing on coat and gloves, I headed north. I lucked out in getting a parking spot right in front of the row of townhomes that was perpendicular to the sidewalk. It was the one in the middle that had the mis-entered address. I rang the bell.

Immediately, dogs were barking. It was loud. I looked up and above me to my left was a glass window. Two little poodles were the ones making the noise. I turned to them and cooed a greeting. After that, the door opened. Clearly, I had woken up the man who lived there. He was disheveled, barefoot and wearing shorts.

After explaining the situation, he shut the door and went to look. He returned saying he hadn’t received the package, but suggested I try the unit closest to the sidewalk, as he indicated the deliveries often went there by mistake. I thanked him and headed over.

Ringing the bell, I was again treated to a cacophony of barking! I looked up and there was another poodle!!! Eventually, a woman came to the door. When she opened it, I could see there were several packages in the foyer. Again, I explained and she said she’d look. While she was looking, the man from the next unit appeared with my package. He said his wife had brought it in and was sleeping when he first had checked.

Thrilled, I left with my package and drove home. I immediately called the store, and to my surprise, I got Denise again! She was equally shocked as she had said I would get someone else. I told her the story and she said I had made her day! She said she had been fretting about me. It was a great way to start my day, too, with a problem happily solved.

The Mouse

Last night at 2:15 am, Cleo began charging around this one area of the bedroom. She was hunting a little brown mouse who started hiding near the wall where John has his various chargers. I saw it at one point and it was a crafty little mouse 🐁 hiding behind whatever it could.

Next thing I knew, it had headed into the wilderness of John’s closet with Cleo in hot pursuit!

Since neither of us could sleep with all this action going on, John got up and could see the mouse had squeezed into a little spot where the plaster wall had cracked and crumbled.

He got a plastic container and with Cleo in close supervision, he was able to coax the mouse inside and slide the lid underneath. (Container upside down at that point).

While he was putting on warm clothes, I took this photo. He brought the mouse 🐁 outside to an area that has a lot of leaves and let it out.

Soaking in the Beauty!

Wandering around the Denver Botanic Gardens this week, I noticed how different the flowers are in August than they were during my visit at the end of June. It is an island of paradise in the middle of the city and a place where the immersion in color and sheer variety of plant life is inspiring. I was soaking in the beauty and being aware that it is here, right in front of us, in spite of the dreadful news we hear everyday. For my time at the gardens, I relished this fact, breathed in what was in my immediate vision and rejoiced for these calm spaces.

Busy Pikas!

On our hike last week on the tundra, we were overjoyed to see so many picas, bustling around with grasses in their mouths, preparing for the winter months. They were making their notorious squeaks and were a joy to see. The next day, all I could think about, was how I wanted to still be there with them, sharing in their energized delight!

A Heaven of Wildflowers

Rose crowns on July hike to our favorite “secret” spot!
Sky Pilot early July, 2022
Parry’s Primrose, July 2022

The wildflowers this summer are a feast to behold. All the rain in the mountains has produced more of everything, including some species on certain trails that I haven’t seen in the past. I’ve been hiking more slowly to make sure I drink in the colors and forms.

The Real Me

I found out in January that I had basal cell carcinoma on my nose. A week ago, I had it removed with MOHS surgery. Today I get my stitches out. I have been told that ultimately, I will be pleased with the results. I’ve been doing a healing meditation from Peggy Huddleston, where I visualize a positive outcome. But this drama goes deeper…I can remember when I was in about 5th grade, going to a costume party and I dressed up in my dad’s clothes and went as what we called then, a “hobo.” All the other girls were in “pretty” girly costumes except for me. I remember how it all changed for me once I was 12 and I think, the me that dressed up as the hobo, not caring what I looked like, that was the real me.

Porch Pirates

As I sat working on my laptop, an email blipped onto the screen with the headline, “I have a package that was stolen from your porch.” It turns out the box was empty, and the neighbor, one block north, had footage on his surveillance video of the thief ripping the box open at 1:23 a.m.

I later discovered the package had been delivered by the post office at 7:37 p.m. about 30 minutes after we’d locked up the front and headed into the back of the house to read. No one had rung the doorbell to alert us of its presence so it sat out all night, ripe for the work of porch pirates.

The package was from a dear childhood friend that I have known since age 5. It contained 9 handmade Christmas ornaments. She lovingly sends these each year.

I filed a police report and requested that the post office ring my bell when deliveries are made in the future.

The neighbor who captured the video footage said he thinks people from a homeless camp wander our area at night.

The only way I could come to terms with this was to imagine that the person who has the ornaments was going to either hang them in his tent or give them to children that might otherwise not receive any gifts.

This got me thinking about the perspective it takes to steal a package from someone’s porch. It is not something I could ever do. I would know that I was hurting someone and causing them loss and pain. But those who do this, do not think that way. We are those who “have” and they are those who don’t. This separates us.

What can we do to create more of a community, to take care of those in need to prevent this desperation? Something to think about as we approach this Christmas.