Some "joy" to balance some of my recent complaints:
These tea towels from Amelia make use of some delightful artwork
by Holy Angels artists Molly and Sharon W.!
I love looking at them!
They lift my spirits. :)
What was left of the baked delights from Erin and crew
after Fee and I made our first few helpings!
Some wonderful incoming mail!
from Teresa and Ricky
Ricky made the heart from a horseshoe and the postcard is from
one of Carolyn Dorman's drawings of wildflowers.
Carolyn Dorman dedicated her life to the preservation of native ecosystems.
The Carolyn Dorman Nature Preserve continues her mission.
Here is an interesting post about "Carrie" Dorman, her work, and legacy on Teresa's blog!
Thank you, Ricky and Teresa! I love the heart and the card!
The promise of daylilies!
This fan letter from a child to James Preller and his always thoughtful reply. It is so generous of authors to reply to fan mail, and James Preller's replies make me happy.
Cartoons on stamps appeal to my sense of whimsy. I have several 32 c stamps depicting characters from old comic strips that I love. Recently, however, this article gives some examples of Royal Mail takes on cartoons.
This stamp hits very close to home!
(Oh, yes, I plan to write a letter to an anonymous person
which will include a "to do" list of household chores.)
So...how about your "joy to complaint" ratio?
Speaking for myself, not too bad, even though I've just started on a second version of a piece I was intending only to do once.....
ReplyDelete:) Most of my complaints are not serious, but complaining about the weather and 93 degrees in mid-May is a pretty much a local pastime. I thought it was interesting to have a ratio, and I want to be sure to keep my ratio of what make me happy on the high side.
DeleteSorry that you are needing a second version of your piece, but when you finish, your satisfaction will be doubled. Like the tiny lifebelts that got smaller and smaller until they were "just right."
Those tea towels are so pretty. Great question about complaining. You are right, we all do it but I do try to be conscious when I fall into it. I think sometimes we need a good pity party and/or vent session but if it's a constant thing then I would think you'd want to look for what's driving that behavior. I say this because I deal with this with my mom. She tends to be quite negative so I try to help her think about things in a more positive light but not always successful!
ReplyDeleteThe tea towels make me so happy when I look at them, and it makes me happy that the folks at Holy Angels are so happy making art. It is hard at times with generational differences--my daughters work on me, too. :)
DeleteYour post reminds me that I'm not really a complainer. Truly. And it also made me realize that after being married to Terry for almost 47 years the only complaint I have is that as he ages his complaint to joy ratio has risen significantly. I'm sure it's due to his failing health and feeling rather helpless at times. And so your post reminds me to be more patient with him.
ReplyDeleteToday I am grateful for you and this post.
xx, Carol
Failing health would definitely influence the joy/complaint ratio. Most complaints are minor, temporary, and easily forgotten, but physical health problems are much more serious and do affect our attitudes.
DeleteWhat an interesting way to get people to think deeply about themselves. I'm curious about how closely my thinking matches how others see my joy/complaint ratio. They do have to live with me. Maybe I'll just try to bring the complaint percent down a few degrees.
ReplyDeleteI saw a few daylilies in bloom just this week. I'm hoping that we get rain today. The skies do look promising.
It depends, doesn't it? How seriously do we take the incident we might be complaining about? Is it something we mull over and over in our heads or something we laugh off within a minute or two. You are right, though, it might me interesting to know how others view our ratio.
DeleteThe daylily that I posted a picture of had its first two blooms this morning, and it is covered in buds so more to come. :) Hope you get the rain you need, Mary!
I was touched by the Holy Angels video. Everyone needs to feel useful. I remember my grandmother saying the hardest thing for her as she went into her 90s was that she no longer felt useful. It wasn’t about being needed, it was about being useful.
ReplyDeleteI am by nature a joyful person. I try to see the silver lining. But boy, can I complain! I like to think it’s just healthy venting. Yeah, that’s it....
I'm so glad you watched the video, Rian. Holy Angels is a pretty remarkable place! You are right people need to feel useful. Maybe if the philosophy of Holy Angels was applied to homes for the elderly and to housing the homeless conditions for both would change for the better.
Delete:) The nature of a complaint is important. None of us want to be the person who can't be happy because they are too busy looking at the negative in every situation. Maybe the ratio is really about a negative vs a positive attitude. You can complain about landing in the rough, then let it be overshadowed by a hole in one. Your golfing seems entirely joyful, but I know there are plenty of hiccups along the way.