Beautiful, Susan! I especially needed this reminder: "what I am going to do today to find and cultivate joy?" Had a few frustrations this morning, need to take a walk outside and reset. Thanks for being here.
Finding and cultivating joy, noticing when it is given…the more you practice, the easier it gets, and the easier it gets, the more you are freed from the tyranny of fear!
Thank you for this. These chance encounters with wild beings fill my heart with love, and feel like gifts from the earth. Bless the quail and you for recognizing her sacred nature and your connection. xo
OMG, Susan, thank you so much for sharing/introducing us to this wonderful new word! I now have a handle on and a way to define what I have been going through for the last several years. This most definitely provides me with the joy that will flow through my day... perhaps days to come. Thank you!
Isn't "rewirement" a great metaphor? In just the few days since I learned the word, it's changed how I look at my days, and the joy practice came out of that. I'm off to the high mesas above Ghost Ranch for the weekend. See you after I come back!
Thanks, Susan. I often think we spend way too much time wringing our hands about what's awful in the world, from cruel politics to even more cruel war, and we fail to open our eyes to the good around us--a kind word, a bright bed of flowers (right outside my desk window), the steps the gov't is taking to save Mother Earth--all kinds of good things happen all around us every day. We need to work on our mindset.
I agree, Judy: there is a lot of good in the world but we get fixated on the negative news. Which I think is why the idea of rewiring is so appealing to me. If we can create new pathways in our brains to witness and appreciate--and strengthen--the good, we will be less fixated on what is wrong, and we'll contribute to the ocean of light and love, instead of the ocean of darkness and fear.
Yesterday, I too enjoyed watching the Quail & Doves outside my window. I also noticed that some Finches are using my birdhouse in the Pistachio Tree I planted in memory of my beloved Step-Mother, Grandma Mary. I have So Much Joy with my being older & free to do whatever I please when I feel led. I do not take it for granted & now am glad for the 20 yrs of working at El Dorado High School which gives me the CalPers retirement income with Social Security to live comfortably & have all that I need, even to many it is low income. I am rejoicing for the era that I have lived where the World was moving slower & sharing more. I have the wisdom & ability to enjoy the beauty of Nature, Family, Friends, books, the Internet, & the list goes on. Spring makes it easy to Celebrate New Life!
I am glad that you can live comfortably on your CalPers and SS, and that you have your lovely place in the foothills of the Sierras to take your time enjoying nature and living life the way you want. May Spring bring you much joy, and may you share it freely with others!
I feel my "wiring" is just slightly different from yours, so I welcome tweaking it by following your posts. For instance I have an image of "pathways" in my thinking rather than wiring. Some I have trod often and routinely "turn right" at a particular junction. I love that your writings cause me to think "what if I turn left" this time.
I think you have always been an explorer of new pathways, but we do all get into habits and habitual routes. Perhaps turning left instead of right will take you to new joys. :)
Thank you for sharing my piece on rewirement, and for expanding on it in your latest post. I very much appreciate your story about encountering the scaled quail. I find great joy in the natural world, and with migratory birds moving through or returning to my home land, lots of joy is felt in seeing my feathered friends return. Take good care.
Your use of rewirement was really perspective changing Dave, and I very much appreciate the whole metaphor. It's funny about birds: I grew up with birdwatchers, but plants have always been my people. I enjoy birds, but my strongest connection to the rest of nature is plants. I'm glad that birds bring you home to nature and your own terraphilia. Blessings to you!
Yes, cultivating joy is a good idea, in the face of much that is terrible and dreadful. I am an early riser, now before sunrise Each day I start off reading my favourite Substack writers and creatives with my morning coffee.
Then, at dawn's early light (I love that phrase; I find it soothing), I go out to my front yard with my bag of nuts and my bird food and set it in place. The birds are full of song and are communicating in the most joyful way. I just stand there silently and without much movement.
What am I going to do today to cultivate joy? Intentional; must try this. mostly I wander thru my life not paying any attention. My hubby will ask me where are you, and it's always on the list of to-dos?!I need to cultivate more joy. my gratitude journal has even gotten stale.?
I think that bringing our awareness back to moments of joy is one way to rejuvenate our participation in life. May this intentional practice bring you joy and so much more....
I love that you were grabbed by the term "rewire" in place of retire Susan. I specialize in working with so many people who are ready to change the way they work and either do or be different and this concept rings true with them too. I for one never plan to not work as my earth work is linked to Nature and the adaptation with the climate crisis and also supporting children to live better childhoods. I will always be able to contribute to those two things and so...I will continue to rewire and get energy instead of retire and live retired in a recliner.
Thank you for the work you do, Helene. It sounds like all of your work is heart work, and we who are fortunate to find that kind of work can keep doing it as long as we are able, because it enriches us. So yes, keep rewiring and getting energy and, I hope, satisfaction from your work!
Joy and rewirement. I will use your intentional practice of finding a moment of joy in each day. And I’m thinking that we are always rewiring, or at least, always being presented with the opportunities to rewire. Your post made me think about all the rewiring of myself I’ve done even in the last 6 years. After such an intense season, I’m tired. And now I’m wondering about how I might rewire myself towards more ease. Thanks Susan. I hope you enjoyed your time camping!
The weekend was intense and hard work--tracking 50 horses and riders and helping manage a temporary "city" of 60+ horse trailers and rigs is no small endeavor. But we were in the landscape that painter Georgia O'Keeffe loved best in the world, on a ranch where the public isn't normally allowed, so that in itself was a treat.
Re rewiring to allow yourself more ease and less intensity, that's the sense in which I'm using rewiring as well. May we both find the new habits and neural pathways we need!
I love Learning How to See, and I cannot wait to listen to your episode of it! Also very grateful for the much needed nudge towards cultivating joy, perceived demands have really been obscuring my joy-lenses this week...but I felt the joy in your interaction with the quail.
Thank you, Chloe. I was wrong about the release date for the Learning How to See episode: it's this Friday, 26 April, not last Friday. It was such a delight to talk with Brian for the podcast. He's an insightful interviewer and a lovely person. May joy nudge you often in the coming days!
Yay for being nudged towards joy! In my next gratitude post, I am going to include a couple of short videos I've shot of the amazingly resilient wildflowers blooming in this dreadfully dry high desert grassland (we've gotten less than an inch of precipitation since late January and it's been unusually warm). I figure wildflowers are a good boost of joy. :)
Beautiful, Susan! I especially needed this reminder: "what I am going to do today to find and cultivate joy?" Had a few frustrations this morning, need to take a walk outside and reset. Thanks for being here.
May that walk and all you find give you the reset you need. And many blessings to you!
Finding and cultivating joy, noticing when it is given…the more you practice, the easier it gets, and the easier it gets, the more you are freed from the tyranny of fear!
Exactly. And may the joy you find buoy your days and your health. Blessings!
Thank you for this. These chance encounters with wild beings fill my heart with love, and feel like gifts from the earth. Bless the quail and you for recognizing her sacred nature and your connection. xo
They do feel like gifts from the earth, and I am grateful to be able to witness and honor them! Blessings and a hug to you.
I read this with deep contemplation as someone who is still in the early stage of retirement/rewirement. It is a lot to process. Thank you.
I hope that the metaphor of rewirement will be a fruitful one for you as you make this profound transition in life. Blessings!
OMG, Susan, thank you so much for sharing/introducing us to this wonderful new word! I now have a handle on and a way to define what I have been going through for the last several years. This most definitely provides me with the joy that will flow through my day... perhaps days to come. Thank you!
Isn't "rewirement" a great metaphor? In just the few days since I learned the word, it's changed how I look at my days, and the joy practice came out of that. I'm off to the high mesas above Ghost Ranch for the weekend. See you after I come back!
Thanks, Susan. I often think we spend way too much time wringing our hands about what's awful in the world, from cruel politics to even more cruel war, and we fail to open our eyes to the good around us--a kind word, a bright bed of flowers (right outside my desk window), the steps the gov't is taking to save Mother Earth--all kinds of good things happen all around us every day. We need to work on our mindset.
I agree, Judy: there is a lot of good in the world but we get fixated on the negative news. Which I think is why the idea of rewiring is so appealing to me. If we can create new pathways in our brains to witness and appreciate--and strengthen--the good, we will be less fixated on what is wrong, and we'll contribute to the ocean of light and love, instead of the ocean of darkness and fear.
Yesterday, I too enjoyed watching the Quail & Doves outside my window. I also noticed that some Finches are using my birdhouse in the Pistachio Tree I planted in memory of my beloved Step-Mother, Grandma Mary. I have So Much Joy with my being older & free to do whatever I please when I feel led. I do not take it for granted & now am glad for the 20 yrs of working at El Dorado High School which gives me the CalPers retirement income with Social Security to live comfortably & have all that I need, even to many it is low income. I am rejoicing for the era that I have lived where the World was moving slower & sharing more. I have the wisdom & ability to enjoy the beauty of Nature, Family, Friends, books, the Internet, & the list goes on. Spring makes it easy to Celebrate New Life!
I am glad that you can live comfortably on your CalPers and SS, and that you have your lovely place in the foothills of the Sierras to take your time enjoying nature and living life the way you want. May Spring bring you much joy, and may you share it freely with others!
I feel my "wiring" is just slightly different from yours, so I welcome tweaking it by following your posts. For instance I have an image of "pathways" in my thinking rather than wiring. Some I have trod often and routinely "turn right" at a particular junction. I love that your writings cause me to think "what if I turn left" this time.
I think you have always been an explorer of new pathways, but we do all get into habits and habitual routes. Perhaps turning left instead of right will take you to new joys. :)
lovely idea
Thank you, Bette! May it be useful for you.
Thank you for sharing my piece on rewirement, and for expanding on it in your latest post. I very much appreciate your story about encountering the scaled quail. I find great joy in the natural world, and with migratory birds moving through or returning to my home land, lots of joy is felt in seeing my feathered friends return. Take good care.
Your use of rewirement was really perspective changing Dave, and I very much appreciate the whole metaphor. It's funny about birds: I grew up with birdwatchers, but plants have always been my people. I enjoy birds, but my strongest connection to the rest of nature is plants. I'm glad that birds bring you home to nature and your own terraphilia. Blessings to you!
Yes, cultivating joy is a good idea, in the face of much that is terrible and dreadful. I am an early riser, now before sunrise Each day I start off reading my favourite Substack writers and creatives with my morning coffee.
Then, at dawn's early light (I love that phrase; I find it soothing), I go out to my front yard with my bag of nuts and my bird food and set it in place. The birds are full of song and are communicating in the most joyful way. I just stand there silently and without much movement.
This is how I cultivate joy early in the day.
Love this!
That's a lovely practice, Perry! Thank you for sharing it and your kinship with these amazing winged dinosaurs.
What am I going to do today to cultivate joy? Intentional; must try this. mostly I wander thru my life not paying any attention. My hubby will ask me where are you, and it's always on the list of to-dos?!I need to cultivate more joy. my gratitude journal has even gotten stale.?
I think that bringing our awareness back to moments of joy is one way to rejuvenate our participation in life. May this intentional practice bring you joy and so much more....
I love that you were grabbed by the term "rewire" in place of retire Susan. I specialize in working with so many people who are ready to change the way they work and either do or be different and this concept rings true with them too. I for one never plan to not work as my earth work is linked to Nature and the adaptation with the climate crisis and also supporting children to live better childhoods. I will always be able to contribute to those two things and so...I will continue to rewire and get energy instead of retire and live retired in a recliner.
Thank you for the work you do, Helene. It sounds like all of your work is heart work, and we who are fortunate to find that kind of work can keep doing it as long as we are able, because it enriches us. So yes, keep rewiring and getting energy and, I hope, satisfaction from your work!
ah thanks for acknowledging that. I am passionate and clear about my earthwork and I will adapt what I do as I evolve using my skills and passions
Helene, That is the best way to live: "adapt what I do as I evolve using my skills and passions." Good for you. :)
It links to the Deep Adaptation process as defined by Jem Bendell and his “collapse readiness “ theories. I don’t plan to collapse though.
Hah! That's good (that you're not planning to collapse). I'll check out the Deep Adaptation process as I've never heard of it. Thanks. :)
Joy and rewirement. I will use your intentional practice of finding a moment of joy in each day. And I’m thinking that we are always rewiring, or at least, always being presented with the opportunities to rewire. Your post made me think about all the rewiring of myself I’ve done even in the last 6 years. After such an intense season, I’m tired. And now I’m wondering about how I might rewire myself towards more ease. Thanks Susan. I hope you enjoyed your time camping!
The weekend was intense and hard work--tracking 50 horses and riders and helping manage a temporary "city" of 60+ horse trailers and rigs is no small endeavor. But we were in the landscape that painter Georgia O'Keeffe loved best in the world, on a ranch where the public isn't normally allowed, so that in itself was a treat.
Re rewiring to allow yourself more ease and less intensity, that's the sense in which I'm using rewiring as well. May we both find the new habits and neural pathways we need!
Yes to that! And also to the work involved in managing that many people and animals!
I love Learning How to See, and I cannot wait to listen to your episode of it! Also very grateful for the much needed nudge towards cultivating joy, perceived demands have really been obscuring my joy-lenses this week...but I felt the joy in your interaction with the quail.
Thank you, Chloe. I was wrong about the release date for the Learning How to See episode: it's this Friday, 26 April, not last Friday. It was such a delight to talk with Brian for the podcast. He's an insightful interviewer and a lovely person. May joy nudge you often in the coming days!
I checked the schedule and assumed as much, really looking forward to listening. I have been much nudged towards joy today! 🙏
Yay for being nudged towards joy! In my next gratitude post, I am going to include a couple of short videos I've shot of the amazingly resilient wildflowers blooming in this dreadfully dry high desert grassland (we've gotten less than an inch of precipitation since late January and it's been unusually warm). I figure wildflowers are a good boost of joy. :)
Oh, wonderful. Very few things lift my heart the way a resilient wildflower does :)