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Channel / Source:
TEDx Talks
Published: 2017-09-12
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH0Eq7rZaYc
makes you feel for me it's immediate joy in its purest form when was the last time you felt like her when we were children we felt this sort of join naturally it was spontaneous it was raw and it was without fear of judgement it's my belief that joy is within all of us and sometimes to feel it within yourself you must first get that same feeling
away to others when I think back as a child my earliest and fondest memories of feeling joy were the summers I spent with my sweet grandma Frieda performing simple acts of kindness for her like tending to her and Liz flowerbeds now I will admit I didn't necessarily love spending the humid summer days digging in there while my brother and cousins seem to get off the hook
but as I recall I didn't complain and my maybe I complain once out of sight up but I think it's really because the small seemingly insignificant acts were done out of the love that I felt for my grandma and more importantly the joy that those simple acts brought to her I distinctly remember how my efforts brought a soft insincere smile to her face and I felt
the most fulfilled in my life when I'm cultivating those moments of joy for others now if life would have it so I am not the carefree little girl I once was I grew up and that the harsh realities of life late eighties I eighty and depression and a lot of self doubt I'm sure many of you %HESITATION here kid have faced similar challenges and somewhere along
the way that choice seems to slip lower and lower on the list of priorities sometimes even feeling out of reach it's easy to take away for granted because we forget just how important it is for our well being I really enjoy is the basic need and that's you number something each and everyone of us so why don't we give joy more often well I think that's
because it takes a concerted effort on our part not to let the stress and responsibilities of life hardness because for everything that joy offers it does require two things from us to be boner bother and number two to risk opening our hearts to share that with others so that is what I did that I need a conscious effort to share my joy with others little did
I know all of those summers digging in the dirt with my sweet grandma would plant the seed for hope blooms a flower recycling projects I created that re purposes flowers from special events like weddings and funerals we have created and delivered more than two thousand bouquets to community members who could just use a little extra joy in their day from hospice patients to nursing home residents
to women staying at the emergency shelter at the YWCA we are delivering small bouquets but I believe that we're creating a lasting feeling for those who need it most like Caroline the wife of John a hospice P. sent Caroline tear it up when her husband received of okay of white roses just like the bed of roses in their backyard he lovingly cared for before he became
ill she said the flowers lifted their hearts during a difficult time and she took up okay and place on her husband's bedside where he could smell the roses the joy that first blooms the summers working in my grandma's garden lives on in the community were creating for others and it's become even more special any significant for me with her recent passing there is a true of
magic in offering unexpected gestures of kindness compassion enjoy whether that's to a close friends or complete stranger something as simple as that writing a thank you note giving somebody a compliment or simply looking them in the eyes and smiling because ordinary asks can have extraordinary meaning they bring light to the darkness creating a more inclusive and brighter place for each and everyone of us to live
