ALL THE JOY YOU NEED

   
Thank you, Cherie for the music brain storm  

"Joy is not in things; it is in us"

~ Richard Wagner

 

ALL THE JOY YOU NEED

Thomas Aquinas once said, "No one can live without joy." But many people try. And the reason is often simply because they don't know how to be happy! They are so intent on the three P's - power, prosperity and prestige - that they miss out on joy.

Try to imagine this picture. It is a photograph taken by Henri Cartier-Bresson, who pioneered modern photography as an art form during the early decades of the 20th Century. He became known for his photographs of apparent contradictions: pictures that left mysteries unexplained.

One of his famous photographs was shot in a poor section of Spain in the 1930s. The picture depicts a run-down alley surrounded by decaying walls, strewn with rubble randomly stacked in thick piles lying on the street, and riddled with bullet holes dotting gray walls. The setting alone evokes feelings of sadness and despair.

But then...the contradiction. Within the grim alley children are
playing. They wear dirty and tattered clothes, as one might expect in
such a setting, but like playing children everywhere, they laugh with
carefree joy. In the foreground, a tiny boy on crutches hobbles away
from two other boys, his face lit up with a broad grin. One boy is
laughing so hard he has to hold his side. Others lean on the cracked
walls, beaming with delight.

It is easy to spot the contrast - and the point. Joy amidst the rubble
of life. Laughter amongst life's ruins.

We cannot avoid pain, however hard we try. But we can avoid joy. We
cannot escape hardship and trouble, but we can miss out on
much of life's peace and laughter.

If you feel as if you could use more joy, try this:

* Spend time daily doing something you enjoy.
* Do those things that bring inner peace.
* Learn to laugh heartily and frequently.
* Cultivate an attitude of hope.
* Fill each day with as much love as it can possibly hold.

You'll still have plenty of problems, but through it all, you'll find
all you joy you will ever need.

 

~ from Your Life Support

 

              ~ Steve Goodier

 

Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908 - August 3, 2004)

was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism,

an early adopter of 35mm format, and the master of candid photography.

He helped develop the "street photography" style

that has influenced generations of photographers that followed.

 

 

 

... joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and when one sits alone with you . . . remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

~ Kahil Gibran

 

 

"I'm so happy for you!"

 

"One of the sanest, surest,

and most generous joys of life

comes from being happy

over the good fortune of others."

~ Robert A. Heinlein

 

Wishing each one of you

a week full

of joy and good fortune!