Blogging for "Joy"

I know, I know...I still don't have events of the Book fest up. I'm working on it, really. This is why I wish I had an Alphasmart -- then all my notes would already be typed up and I'd have only to arrange them in a somewhat coherent fashion. Not to mention others would then be as envious of me as I am friends who already have one.

In the meantime, I saw this on a couple of blogs recently and thought it might be fun to try. To be honest, I didn't expect to have any hits on mine, so was a little surprised when two surfaced. Here's how it works:

THE SEARCH FOR JOY

Search your blog for the word “joy” used in the context of “happiness.” If you cannot find the word in your weblog, you may use any of the select list of synonyms below.

joy — amusement, bliss, cheer, comfort, delectation, delight, ecstasy, elation, exaltation, exultation, exulting, felicity, gaiety, gladness, glee, good humor, gratification, happiness, hilarity, humor, jubilance, liveliness, merriment, mirth, pleasure, rapture, regalement, rejoicing, revelry, satisfaction, wonder

If your weblog does not include a built-in search engine, then you can use Google to search only within one specific website by entering the search terms you're looking for, followed by the word "site" and a colon followed by the domain name.

If you’ve found the word and it was not used facetiously or sarcastically, good for you. All you need to do is link to your earlier entry, and write a few words about that joyous moment. If, however, you have no joy (whole words only) in your weblog, you must dig deep in your soul and find something wonderful in your life right now. One little thing that fills you with warmth, that bubbles you over with quiet happiness, or tickles you with its good-hearted hilarity, or makes you glad you just took a breath, and are getting ready to take another. It doesn’t have to be anything big. A smile someone gave you; your cat on your shoulder; the way the light angles through your window and casts rainbows on your floor. All it has to be is something genuine, something real, something that matters to you.

Because we all need joy in our lives, and need to take the time — from time to time — to recognize it. And sometimes, we need to pass it on.

Even if we’re a big pain in the ass when we do.

When you’ve dealt with your own joy, pass the quest on to five other bloggers.

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Here's what I found on my blog:

Buy A Friend A Book Week
3 Oct 2005

Apart from the joy inherent in giving, you get to slap a sticker on your web site to advertise your beneficence. (If you don't have a web site, stick with that joy in giving thing.) Spread the word by blogging about your choice of book ...


Reading (and music) are fundamental
14 Sep 2005

People who read and share the joy of a new book with them. People who buy them new books just because, and encourage them to visit the library and read as much as possible. This is not the case with the children upstairs from me. ...

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And just for the heck of it, something that made me laugh recently, that I guess you could say brought me a moment of joy, was seeing a tree full of those plastic pumkins kids carry for trick-or-treating. It was while riding the bus to the grocery store Sunday. I happened to glance up just as we were passing this house. More than a dozen of them hung from or were tucked among the branches of a smallish tree. Not a sapling, but certainly not a "mature" tree, either. One could easily reach up and pluck one down. I hope no one steals any from them, and that others get the kick out of it I did.

And now, to tag someone. I'm going to choose Jana, just because I can, and anyone else wanting to play along can do so. enjoy it!