Thoughts on how joy and passion connect me to Divinity

Thoughts about divine, spirit, god/dess energy...

...a few days ago I went for short visit to the fabric store. It's far away and I don't drive so on the occasion that I get a ride there, it's an exciting thing! I walk in and feel like a 'kid in a candy store'.
It was a short visit, about 15 minutes, and I managed to find exactly what I was looking for... which is pretty neat considering I went in wanting "something satiny and slippery to make a scarf from... in colours I like" ... but didn't even have any colours in mind. ☺

I got 4 pieces of fabric and a bias tape maker and came back out to the truck with a huge grin on my face. I kept touching the fabrics on the way home and feeling so excited about working with them.

What does this have to do with divinity?

I have noticed that when I feel good, excited or passionate, about anything, I feel connected to the divinity within me and around me.
It doesn't matter what I'm feeling passionate about. It doesn't need to be something 'spiritual'. Last week we had a mild spell and I was on top of the world to be out on the deck, blowing bubbles. Yesterday I had great fun giggling with my partner over the antics and idiosyncrasies of our cats. Both of those got me connected to that divine spark within me, the spark that I believe is connected to the great, cosmic divine energy, that I believe we are all part of.

I have also noticed that when I feel down, depressed, sad or despairing, I feel disconnected from that spark. I know it's still there, but it feels like I'm wrapped up in layers of heavier emotions that come in between me and that spark.

I feel like the disconnection from divine is what makes me feel so down, so heavy... and yet at the same time, I feel that it is the very feeling down and heavy that disconnects me. So it's kind of confusing to know which comes first, or how it comes about.

The important thing in this, for me, is knowing that feeling joy, passion and love coincide with feeling connected to divine. It doesn't matter which comes first... just knowing that they happen together for me means that I can feel more connected by purposely doing things I love, doing things that excite me or inflame my passion.
I think I'd like to make a list of things that elicit love or joy in me.

A few that come to mind:
blowing bubbles
painting

rainbows of all kinds

talking to trees, plants and animals
sewing
dancing to a song I love
being in nature
doing or saying something that makes another person feel good
swimming in lakes
planning creative projects
gardening
singing to my cat (he loves it :)

What are some things on your joy list?
I'd love if you shared in the comments. It is so wonderful to read others' joys, loves (and I often get great inspiration!).
~☼~

Sharing Beauty - Links To Other Bloggers' Work

I seem to be in a winter hibernation mode... spending a lot of time within both the house and my own heart and mind. I'm doing creative things in tiny bits... at slow paces... and rarely feeling inspired to take photos of them (let alone upload and edit those photos I do take!).

Wintry Window

Winter is a darker time for me - inside and out. I've been craving colour so I'm working on a rainbowy crocheted cell phone cover that I hope to share soon.

Until I have something of my own to share, I thought I'd share some things I've seen in the Blogiverse that I found beautiful or that reached out and brightened my life in some way.

These are all from blogs that I follow in my RSS reader - they are my equivalent of a daily newspaper - a morning dose of wonderful inspiration and beauty!

In no particular order...

These wonderful seasonal tree paintings at Curls Of Red

Every Single Post at A Magic Mom and Her Mandalas (seriously... I could not pick just one - many of her poem/mandala combinations move me to tears of beauty :)

Rabbits are a very special spirit animal for me and so I am loving Leah's New Moon Rabbit and Lit From Within.

This cheerful box and frame at Grace Is Overrated (and all of Christie's journal pages - they rock).

Eden's fabulous, vibrant Doodle Directories!

Dandelionlady's rich painting: Offering to the Swans

This amazing, colourful Tree drawing (done with markers) by Amy at Surviving the Day Every Day.

iHanna's hand-embroidered bicycle seat warmer. Wow!

Although not art directly, I'm really enjoying Lauren's series of Artist Interviews over at VisionWise - Earth Livity1111♥

This Flower Power print by Eliza Lynn Tobin of Art Asana


What are some of your favourite creative blogs to visit?
~

Under the Shagbark Hickory Tree

A provincial park near me has a wonderful tree that I love to sit under.

It's a huge, mature Shagbark Hickory that takes a while each spring to fill out... but when it does... it's glorious!

Lush, thick leaves tower toward the sky, providing welcome shade on hot summer days.  It has a nice amount of space under it where there are no branches - more than 8 feet of clearance.

I take a chair, blanket, snacks, book and camera and can happily spend a day there.
Some lovely sights within a few feet of my chair:

This is the sunny St. John's/Joan's Wort, the plant that helps keep my mood balanced without side effects since I've become sensitive to pharmaceuticals. It works best for mild to moderate depression but I have found that it does help lessen my severe depression and SAD, especially now that I've discovered some other supplements that help including (but not limited to :) folic acid, selenium, B12, vitamin D and 5HTP.

One of these days I'd love to grow and harvest it myself instead of buying it.

(please consult health care provider before using anything I mention :)

Does anyone know what kind of butterfly that is? 

P.S.

Just for fun... here's a photo of my cat sitting on a box... why not!?  ☺☺☺  He loves boxes and was a bit put out that 'his box' had been turned on it's side so he could no longer do his fancy leap into it.  But he made it work for him this way too ;-)