Moments of joy. A gift beyond measure:
Flowers from my older daughter and son-in-law, who live far away and send the nicest bouquets of flowers when we least expect it. Thank you, dear Daughter and Son-in-law.
Scenes of water and trees during the warm months.
Pictures of our gentle giant Kinu. Despite his enormous size, he was a sweet dog who had no idea why some strangers were reluctant to come close.
Mr. D., the sweet little dog my younger daughter rescued.
Easter weekend made 4 years since she brought him home. (Thanks for your kind heart, dear Daughter.)
Scenes from summer, like the day lilies that will bloom profusely this July.
Time spent on the farmhouse verandah.
And moments like this one below: I was signing books at St. George’s Anglican Church in Toronto and a little girl, Tatyana, marched over and asked me to take a photo with her and her mother. I was honoured.
One of the tools they taught me at the rehabilitation hospital: focus on a happy scene. When pain gets so bad that you feel like howling, visualize something that brings you joy.
Thank you, Toronto Rehab.
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Thanks to Hamlin Grange for the lovely photos.
Cynthia Reyes 
Moments of joy … so important to remember to remember them. Thank you for these lovely reminders.
You are welcome, Diane, and thanks for your response. I hope your book is doing very well. It deserves to be read by everyone who’s writing a memoir or thinking of doing so.
Those are lovely images with lovely feelings associated with them. Isn’t Tatyana joyous? It must be hard, though, to ignore the pain long enough to concentrate on joyful images. Sending you heaps of lovely, peaceful images.
Thank you very much, my friend. Yes, Tatyana makes a person smile immediately. She’s a lovely, confident personality at such a magical age where all things seem possible.
Wonderful advice. Praying your pain is less.
Thank you, Karen. How kind of you to do so.
Beautiful images Cynthia, thank you for sharing. Sending you lots of good wishes.
Thanks, Gail. Good wishes to you too. What’s happening in your garden?
Excellent choice of images, can’t think og much better ones than flowers, our loving animals, and trees and water.
Thank you. Some pickled cabbage might be the cherry on top, though! (smile)
Indeed! Moments of joy are treasures that can build a good life. I’m sorry for your challenges, but delighted that you’ve found many simple joys. Joyful photos! 🙂 Hugs and blessings Cynthia.
Thanks so much, Brad.
And the joys of our WordPress community! 🙂
Beautiful words of advice and by your photographs, the scenes and subjects would bring great peace and new focus.
Yes, indeed, Mary. I hope all is well with you. Your paintings are so lovely and your art keeps growing from strength to strength.
Thank you so much Cynthia, really appreciate your support and encouragement.
I try to do the same thing during difficult times, and so many of those joyful memories are from the garden.
Well said. Hard not to smile back when the flowers seem to be smiling at us.
A good idea even one if not in rehab! It is the simple things that can bring joy. Thank you for sharing some of your moments! May you continue to heal!
Thank you for this. I’ve had to learn that – the simplest things can bring the greatest joy. I hope you are finding joy in your days.
I usually think about my next meal!
A great idea — especially if someone skilled is making it!
All very cheerful indeed! Especially your verandah…a sight to behold. I hope it’s warm enough for you to sit, relax and enjoy this weekend. Cheers my dear!
Thank you, Lee. Too cold to sit out there just yet, but it will happen soon!
Thank you so much for sharing this wisdom and the things that have brought you so much joy.
Blessings,
Theresa
Bless you, Theresa. Wishing you a good day.
Those really are joyful pictures, thanks for sharing a little of your joy 🙂 Beautiful veranda!
I empathize with your pain. I have just come through 3 days of an excruciating sinus infection and when I tried to turn my mind away from the pain to something else I found it hard.
It IS difficult. Let no-one tell you otherwise. Severe pain is not for the faint of heart, and until you’ve experienced it, you can’t even imagine how tough it gets. I now have great sympathy for everyone who suffers – and there’s no nicer word for it – from great pain. And I can say that I had to feel it to know what they are going through.
Lovely positive attitude… warmth from family and friends as well 🙂 An encouraging post, Cynthia! 🙂
Thank you, Iris. I’m glad you find it encouraging. Me too.
There’s nothing quite like chronic pain. It invades your thoughts and it’s often hard to keep your mind on anything else but even so, you never have to look too far or search too long to find something to be thankful for. As Tim Hansel said: “Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional.”
Perfectly described.
In my angriest days I once threatened to go get a gun and shoot the pain. The weirdest thing about that? It made sense to me at the time! (smile)
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( Hi Everyone: I will be answering each person, bit by bit, because I’m — well, you can imagine. This, too, shall pass.Thank you for all your kind comments.)
You had me at the flowers, the dogs and the veranda:). One level of Heaven.
Agreed!
My poor dear Cynthia! I am so sorry you have had such pain this winter. Take your time – don’t rush. We will all still be here when you are ready. The photos of your joyful images are beautiful. My prayers and thoughts are with you and yours ❤
Thank you, Clare. Those prayers are important, and I really appreciate them. My best to you and your family. How does your garden grow?
Thank-you Cynthia ❤ My garden grows very well – especially the weeds! I can't keep up with the gardening chores as usual. It is fortunate that after a couple of warm days we have had a lot of bright but chilly weather which has slowed a lot of the growth down. Look after yourself my dear!
You are correct – we all need to find those moments of joy wherever we can. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
Thank you, Lavinia. I keep a ‘joyful journal’, an antidote to all the painful stuff that I have to keep track of. I recommend it highly.
Good Moments of mindfullness joy. It is my experience too that is good for mind, body and spirit. Love the photo of you with the beautifully dresses mom and daughter! Have a lovely Sunday, Johanna
Thank you, Johanna. Hope you’re having a good week and doing wonderful illustrations.
Cynthia, I hope that whatever it is that is causing you pain is resolving, lessening, and will soon be gone. Gratitude, focusing on all that’s good in our lives is certainly a help. Sending you all the best, Jeanne
Thank you, dear Jeanne. The pain, I’ve come to see, is here to stay, but to mangle the Bible’s words: “joy comes in the morning”.
I went looking for images that would bring me joy, images of the mountains I have hiked and climbed. It’s my hope you can feel the joy you inspired in me.
Ah, Aggie my friend. How lovely. That’s a great boost right there!
Now YOU are inspiring the joy. 🙂 All good things to you…
And if you figure out why there has to be so much suffering here, please let me know. Lou says that someday I will understand.
You had to go pose such a profound question this early in the morning, didn’t you? (Big smile).
In one part of the sequel to A Good Home, I take a whack at that. I can hardly wait for you to read that book.
Ooh, the excitment builds…When is the publication date?
Will let you know when I know.
This is a good reminder. Whether my pain is physical or, more often, emotional I need to focus on the joys in my life. Your pictures are wonderful, I especially love your veranda and hope you’re able to sit out there and experience pain free moments. Sending healing thoughts your way.
Life throws so many challenges at us, and some we cannot control. But finding joy – it takes effort, but I recommend it highly. I have had to find joy while stuck in an old house, so I know it is always there for the seizing. ‘Course, sometimes even seizing is too great an effort, but it’s worth it! My joyful journal helps too.
Hi Cynthia, keep focusing on joyful images, I am thinking of you and imagining an afternoon on your beautiful verandah. Your daughters flowers are gorgeous too, unexpected gifts are often the best kind.
So true, Julie. Thanks for this lovely message. I am grateful.
Sorry to hear that you are battling such awful pain. Your lovely photographs are life enhancing. Family, home, flowers and your lovely dogs they are heart warming images.
I’m glad, Chloris. And keep posting those lovely pix of what’s flowering in your garden. It’s lovely to see them!
Oh my-what beautiful “Happy Scenes”:-) I see you had a daughter that loves animals:-) My animal loving daughter( Molly):-) told me the other day, “Gee, mom I don’ t know how you put up with me and all my animals:-) priceless!! Did I have a choice-tee hee:-) I have one of her rescues sitting on my lap as I write this comment-September the kitty she brought home -guess??? in September’:-) Happy Spring!
Thank you, Robbie. Both daughters love animals, just like your Molly. What a great name for a kitten adopted in September. I think we should have called Mr. D. “Easter Weekend”!
EW for short:-)
+ with all those beautiful moments in your days-I hope your pain is less:-)
Thank you, dear Robbie.
I can’t imagine chronic pain. The respect I have for people who live with suffering is endless. Unless you have lived with a pain that is continuous, you have no idea what it does to the mind. I recently found that out after my last dental procedure. I knew there would be an end to my pain but my mind did not believe it and the battle to get out of bed was taking over.
I hope your visions help relieve some of that pain and refresh your mind! Prayers for your strength! Tina
Thank you, Tina. You echoed my feelings for others who struggle with chronic pain. I would not have believed that anything could hurt that much until it struck me. So I, too, respect such people for bearing this affliction with grace.
Happy recovery time. Thank you for these beautiful pictures and more do you good , make us feel good 🙂
Thank you, Christiane, for this lovely reply. I always get a boost from seeing your lovely bouquets too.
Wonderful pictures,Cynthia. The last one sums up joy gorgeously.
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
Wendy: thank you for your always gracious reply. I’m wishing you a good day.
Wishing you many more moments of joy, may they dwell in your memory or come unexpectedly to light the dark times and give you respite from the weariness of coping.
Thanks, Margaret. You hit that one on the head: ‘the weariness of coping”. It does wear one out, and that’s why we need every technique we can find. summoning a joyful image has helped me time and time again.
Wonderful post! Wishing you many blessings!
Same here, Ines. Thank you!
I’ve never experienced the kind of pain you describe–I’m very impressed that you can get past it, even temporarily, with the power of beautiful images. That sums up the idea that the mind can make a hell of heaven and a heaven of hell!
Hi Kerry:
Thank you.
Sometimes you have to throw every single tool at it and hope for the best.
What lovely things on which to focus! Your sweet pups and verandah! Love 🙂
This is a great idea for all of us. I know I need to focus on those things that bring me joy and fret less. Thanks for the reminder and inspiration.
And thank you for this encouraging response, Chasidy. I’m wishing you a lovely day.
As usual, great pics Cynthia and the reminder to slow down and focus on moments of joy is always needed.
These are lovely and sweet images Cynthia, and I can see why they would lift your spirits. Your little white Mr. D. is just adorable, and I understand about gentle giants. We had a St. Bernard when I was growing up. 🙂 The flowers your daughter and son-in-law sent you are just beautiful!! So very thoughtful of them!
I appreciate so much your visits to my blog and the kind comments you leave for me. I signed up to receive your blog posts via e-mail, and I do receive them. But I still have trouble remembering to visit you. I’ve discovered that happens with blogs I get by e-mail, as opposed to the ones whose updated posts pop up automatically on my blogroll. I’ve now added your blog to my sidebar so that I will more readily see it, and I look forward to visiting you more!
I enjoyed your post, and I hope you have a lovely weekend!!
Warm Hugs,
Denise
Thanks, Denise. Good to hear from you. I;m wishing you a lovely weekend.
Beautiful inspiring pictures! Dogs alone can take away some part of pain!
I cannot unfortunately have any pets in this place. I love gardening and obviously art, but when my pain is just too bad, I don’t think I can be fine with thinking about anything. The worst is pain limits doing and I so much hate not getting things done. Pain is a necessary signal of the body and those people who have a severe rare disorder of not sensing pain are even in more terrible situation because pain prevents us from injuring ourselves and getting worse or missing some troubling signs and symptoms.
Hi Cynthia, these are all lovely images. You are right, the mind is so powerful it can help us ease our pain and sadness.
Reblogged this on Cynthia Reyes.
Thank you for the beautiful pictures & gentle words. They brought me a ‘moment of joy’ & made me smile. Wishing you well & hope things get easier. So looking forward to summer flowers…
I’m so glad. Thanks for the good wishes.
Every one of those pictures would bring me joy. I can smell the air and flowers from the verandah! Thanks for the reminder to focus and visualize. Sometimes we forget to just breath and smell the flowers in the midst of pain or crisis!
Yup, sometimes we forget. Me for sure. Glad you like the pictures.
Wonderful moments. The flowers are especially interesting as well as beautiful and I love the signing photo with all its joy and colour.
Me, too, Hilary. I love their dresses.
Such a beautiful post, Cynthia. What a sweet little girl. And I’m loving your pet photos! Aw, I love all these photos! 😀 Happy weekend!
That is a sweet little girl, Linda. Bright and so charming.
You have such a warm smile, Cynthia! 🙂 The gift of flowers always brings me joy too.
Thank you, Jo. Nice to hear from you. Happy travelling!
There is so much joy in life if we look around 🙂 Thank you for this beautiful post!
You are very welcome. Get well soon!
Thank you Cynthia!
That little girl, and the costumes she and her mother are wearing, are just gorgeous.
Cheers
MTM
Thanks, MT. That’s true! and their personalities were lovely too.
Thinking of you and your family, especially your parents.