What It Takes To Choose Joy
Joy is so important to us. It helps us make the most out of every day. It helps us try new things, to love on people who need it, and even find the light when the season might be a little darker than we'd hoped…
If you know anything about Garden Key Co, you might know that this company is a company that sells handlettered products and services (classes). What you might not know is there is a common theme - every item we make, every blog we post, every picture we take.. is based around joy. Our biggest mission is to help people find joy in whatever situation or environment they're currently in --- by unlocking their best adventure.
Joy is so important to us. It helps us make the most out of every day. It helps us try new things, to love on people who need it, and even find the light when the season might be a little darker than we'd hoped.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to talk openly and honestly with Your Coach Meg about what choosing joy looks like to me. If you're interested in viewing, you can watch directly below!
Love you guys,
Rosemary
BLINDED BY BEAUTY
Okay, so I have a little bit of a secret to admit to you guys. I've developed a major love of the show "Little Big Shots". I bring it up in conversations way too often, and I've been watching it so much lately that it's kind of embarrassing.
In fact, it's been my incentive to get back to the gym. Going to the gym = Little Big Shots viewing party. (Whoop whoop!)
But, seriously, it's such a great show! Not only is it so fun to see the talents that these kids have at such young ages, and the hilarious things that come out of their mouths (if I were one of their parents, I swear I'd be terrified of what they'd say on live tv!), but the main thing that draws me in is the way that these children see the world. They still see the world in such a genuinely beautiful, naive way.
So, gym night rolled around a few nights ago and I plugged in my ipad and started getting myself pumped for the next hour on the treadmill. The show starts, and after a few acts, this little fella who has been blind since he was born appears on stage. They show clips of his extraordinary singing talents and interview him for a few minutes.
Check out the clip below:
So, I'm sure you can guess, as soon as he says "Mr. Harvey... I love you" my eyes start to get a little teary-eyed. I knew I was in for one of those "Rosemary-please-don't-cry-on-the-treadmill" moments. But it happened. And I let it.
If you didn't watch the clip, I guess I should tell you that Steve responds with 3 reasons why he loves him too. And Steve says this "I love you because your soul judges people for who they are and not what they look like. You just judge people the right way. See, most people don't have that type of soul. They're so busy looking at them, that they're coming away with the wrong opinion without even getting to know them."
And then it hit me. This little guy can only "see" beauty. He might hear bad things that people say to him and others, but he only SEES good things. Like Steve said, he sees people for who they are. WOW. How beautiful, right?
So I had this epiphany while trying to wipe away my treadmill tears-- what if we all were blinded by beauty? How much negativity and judgment would be tossed out the window if we could only see the good in things? In people? In situations?
It'd be a pretty great world, huh?
Although I never would wish blindness upon anyone, I do hope that you get something from this post --- remember to evaluate the situations that you're in and find the beauty in them. EVERY situation has a positive, and I hope you always remember to look for it.
SIMPLIFYING IN '17
Over the past few weeks, I've had moments here and there to reflect over 2016. I know a lot of people have shared that they thought "2016 needed to leave" or that "it was weird". But for me personally, 2016 was a year of endurance.
I left 2016 realizing that I had accomplished a lot personally and with my business, but I had also spent way too much good energy on bad things. On situations I should have gotten out of as soon as I saw they wouldn't help me progress, on people that left me feeling down and empty when I left them, and on places that made me feel like my feet were in concrete. I always thought of endurance as the positive word in a Nike commercial - you'd see the fit athlete race across the screen, sweat beading down their forehead while they defeated obstacles and left their competitors in the dust. But 2016 made me rethink of the definition of endurance differently. It was about stretching myself - in both healthy and non-healthy ways. It was definitely time for a reality check and 2017 came at the perfect time.
2017 is full of SIMPLIFYING. To sum it up, it's about getting rid of the bad or mundane things so I can focus on the good ones. It's about living as creatively as possible, because that's where I thrive. It's about loving those people that love me, and saying goodbye to relationships/friendships that aren't of value.
So I hope you'll stay tuned for the adventures that this year will bring - there are already so many fun things that I have to keep under wraps for a while, but I can't wait to share with you all.
As always, thanks for following along. Thank you for your support, it means the world!
