We often find what we're looking for.

The truth is that we are already everything. – Alan Cohen

I think this quote from Alan Cohen should be posted on every mirror in every bathroom. We really are already everything–we are whole and complete and every single thing is inside of us.

Whenever I’m feeling discontented it’s usually because I’m searching for something outside myself, looking for more than what I think I am. Driving home tonight it occurred to me that my life is pretty darn awesome. And in realizing that, really realizing that–you know, like in your bones–I felt amazingly joyful and at ease.

I have everything because I am everything.

And, my friends, so are you.

License plate spreading joy

I saw this great license plate on the way home from work today.  Nearly stopped traffic to take a photo of it.

Be happy.

Words to live by.

Leap of Faith

I was going through the saved photos on my camera and came across this lovely image. I can’t recall where or when I took the photo, but I think this might be a painting in the window of a store front. I vaguely recall something like that. Maybe.

The image alone is eye-catching to me. But I am also struck by the quote from Margaret Shepherd:  Sometimes your  only available transportation is a leap of faith.

Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.

The older I get the more I believe that faith is incredibly important. It is essential for the growth and development of the human soul to believe in something–to be able to believe and trust in something outside of ourselves–whatever you choose that to be. That belief, that faith, can act as an anchor.

I have faith in kindness and love. I have faith that there is good inside every single living thing, even if it’s really hard to see. I have faith that every experience we have can make us better, if we let it. I have faith in our ability to create meaningful, joyful lives. I have faith in the healing power of laughter and that a smile can work magic. I have faith that if we remain true to that which we believe in, miracles can happen.

Portland, OR - SE 82nd Ave, 100 ft north of Ogden St

As you’re driving to work or a board meeting or a dentist appointment today you might see a big yellow billboard reminding you to choose joy. Or maybe one nudging you to believe in yourself. Or maybe one boldly declaring You are totally awesome!

Believe your eyes. You can choose joy, you can believe in yourself, and yes, you really are totally awesome. Totally.

There are 8 bright yellow billboards boasting positive messages going up in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, sometime today through Friday.  They’ll be up for 4 weeks. In that time over 2 million sets of eyes will have seen them. That’s 2 million impressions for joy.

The Joy Team is spreading joy, optimism and inspiration to millions. Want to join us?

Bumper sticker

I saw this bumper sticker today and thought, “how wonderful!”

God bless the whole world. No exceptions.

What a fabulous declaration of unconditional acceptance. It’s true. It’s kind. And it feels warm and cozy. You know, the broken-in-soft-and-fuzzy-Sunday-morning-sweatpants kind of cozy.  Love that.

If you haven’t seen this video yet on YouTube, it’s worth checking out.  It’s about a parking attendant who validates  parking and people, and in the process spreads joy and instills confidence.

Warning: this video is 16 minutes long, mostly due to the sappy love story tossed in.  Even if you don’t have 16 minutes, watch the first 5 and have fun seeing the difference (however exaggerated) paying a compliment can make in someone’s life.

Well-dressed ice skater in D.C.

This bit of joy comes to us from Patrick McGillivary.  Thanks, Patrick!

I Spied Joy yesterday in DC watching a gentleman in a suit ice skating… Not only in a suit, he had the fancy colorful handkerchief in his lapel pocket!

Kindness is Contagious - Spread it

We all know it’s true.  But now there’s scientific proof — kindness is contagious.

In a study published in the March 8 early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of California, San Diego and Harvard provide the first laboratory evidence that cooperative behavior is contagious and that it spreads from person to person to person. When people benefit from kindness they “pay it forward” by helping others who were not originally involved, and this creates a cascade of cooperation that influences dozens more in a social network. – from Science Daily

Read the whole article at Science Daily here.

One Billboard for The Joy Team

Many of you may remember my daughter and I hitting the streets last November with messages of joy and inspiration from The Joy Team. Now we’ve made it official.

The Joy Team is now a non-profit corporation in Vancouver, Washington with the sole mission of spreading joy, optimism and inspiration to millions. Instead of reaching 30 or 40 people at a time, we’re shooting for millions.  How are we going to do it? With the awesome power of outdoor advertising:  billboards.

And we’re planning to put the first round of inspiring billboards up in the Portland, Oregon metro area in April or May of this year.  We’ve got at least two billboards in the works. And we’d love to have more.

Want to be part of what very well may be the first ever ad campaign with the sole purpose of spreading joy? Find out how here.

Another billboard for The Joy Team

Our first flower of 2010

Brought to my attention by my son, Kellen, today we gazed upon the first flower in our yard this year. A stray crocus, sprouting up through the grass. What a joy!

For a desert-born girl like me, there are untold swells and stirrings of hope and longing for warm summer days about this time of year. Seeing this first flower confidently shoot up to greet the crisp air and morning sun the day after our northwest clouds released a continuous rain fills me with joy.

Ah, the promise of a blossoming spring. It’s a fabulous thing.