The seeds of joy

Trees, hoar-frosted, rimed with pure, white light;
bright sun shatters morning mist . . .

Around a mirrored mountain lake,
the loon’s call echoes eerily . . .

Gold-rimmed dusk-horizon,
crowned with a paint washed sky . . .

Spiralling to earth on a jewelled night,
bright beneath blue moon.

 

Love’s first flush;
a world  more filled with meanings . . .

‘Marry me’ – a pebble’s splash that stuns and ripples outward;
secret bubble hugged close to my heart . . .

That miracle – new life;
part you, part me, but totally herself . . .

Watching your child take wing and fly –
and letting go with love . . .

 

Witnessing a face light up,
responding to your smallest act of kindness . . .

Creating magic, with intent,
for loved ones, and watching them unbend . . .

That moment when you recognise
the universe unfolding exactly as it should . . .

Making a difference, however small,
for just one person or the world.

 

Beginning to develop a concept of joy . . .

Look round any bookshop, scour the web – it seems to be a lot more difficult than you would imagine to find any coherent definition of ‘joy’!
Below is a mind-map that brings together some of the initial ideas that seem to relate to how people define joy.
Joy Mind-map
Joy Mindmap