Where can you find your joy… in 600 words or less!
This is Now. Now is,
all there is. Don’t wait for Then;
strike the spark, light the fire.”
Why is it that moms seem to have the least amount of time for themselves? While devoting so much to those around them, and their needs, we end up dying inside bit by bit in the service of others? That “bit by bit” of dying becomes “bit-ter” and then very bitter. As we die inside, our hope, satisfaction with ourselves and others dissolves, and we become a shell of our former fun-loving, joy-filled selves.
Motherhood, why would we want it? Statistics show that in 2022, there were 1.33 births per woman in Canada from a whopping 3.81 when I was born in the early 1960’s. No one seems to notice when moms are struggling, and even though we ourselves have set this up for ourselves, it’s SOOOO hard to stop the people-pleasing, and putting others first.
This blog may be the gentle reminder that in order to find joy, we must first find the joy within ourselves, to rekindle that joy, that spark of hope that feels, and heals.
This article and my guest on Hopenning 2.0 Episode #133 is all about recovering the spark, and how we can do this while still being gracious, kind, gentle and generous; all of what makes us joy-filled, all of what makes us love-able.
When life gets in the way of having fun, that’s a call for change.
Josie Sakura, a silks aerialist found this after 13 years in the air and teaching aerial ballet to others. This young wife and soon-to-be mother found that “being an at home mom” though a dream in itself, had left her feeling, “Who am I?”
Without a doubt, being an aerialist and synchrnoized swimmer, and a registered nurse, filled many of her needs for creativity and expression, the idea of motherhood while being a military wife left her feeling lost. She no longer knew her own purpose and how to express herself creatively.
As she says, “I gave everything I had to my two children. My husband came third, and there wasn’t much left for him either.”
Something had to change. She was depressed, and lonely, and moving as much as she had been around the world following the military life wasn’t condusive of building strong friendships. One day, her husband came home with a set of paints and paintbrushes, and said, “Here. Try this.”
It wasn’t much at first, she laughs, “My first tree was blue, and looked nothing like a tree.” But from the beginning, she was able to lose herself in the flow of the painting, nothing else mattered. “I loved it. It was like being in the air again, different, but it was there again. I’d found my spark again.”
This began her journey to remembering who she was inside, and what created joy for her. This joy filled her up, so that she was able to be more present and joy-filled for her husband and her children. She never looked back.
Our full interview can be found here. Watch to the end, as Josie gives us a “Bring a friend” two-for-one discount to her 4 session “Wellness and Art Retreat”, one morning or night a week for the month of March, 2025.
Use the Code: ArtFriend2for1 when you access the course. It’s going to be so much fun and may even re-create the spark within you too, to become joy-filled.
Here’s the link to Josie’s website HeartsYourLife.com
Her art can also be found on her social media sites:
Josie can be found at https://heartsyourlife.com/ https://www.instagram.com/heartsyourlife/ https://www.facebook.com/heartsyourlife/ https://www.youtube.com/@heartsyourlife
Love you all, walk your journey in peace,
Fran
Leave a Reply