Joie De Vivre

I am shamelessly stealing this post topic from Melissa. I think about the concept a lot these days because I forget to look for the joy. While Melissa is focusing on the joy she receives from writing, I want to take it a step further.

Summer is a tough time for me. I'm a loner by nature and I enjoy peace and quiet, not only for writing but for everything else. But summer brings home the children and those days of quiet are gone. Instead, I am surrounded by the chaos three children can bring. Its grating, I will admit. But I get frustrated by my negativity. This is the reality of my life and it is up to me to see the good and find the joy.

Now I only have a month left but better late than never. Instead of harping on what I haven't done or how the kids' fighting is driving me crazy, I should have been focusing on how to find things to do with them which incorporates the joy in life. I should have been focusing on how to incorporate them into my world rather than how to keep them out.

I think as writers we tend to tunnelvision our world onto the computer screen. If our writing isn't going right, then nothing else is either. But I honestly think negativity breeds more negativity. If the writing isn't going write, maybe I need to stop and find something else to do, burn out that negative energy and find joy in something else. Sometimes its just a little thing like cooking dinner with my son or playing ball with my girls. Maybe its a book you found at the bookstore. Or it could be something big like a vacation. My point is, the joy in life doesn't just happen. It isn't some sparkly mist which floats upon us from above. Being happy is hard work. Being depressed is pretty easy.

So tell me one thing you are going to do this week to give yourself a little joy.

By the way...I posted over at Ainsley Park about the blend of historical and the paranormal.