Skip to main content

31 Days of Five-Minute Writes: Day 23 - Joy for Five Minute Friday

This is joy to me. I'm standing on the top of the Arc de Triomphe with the Eiffel Tower in the background. I know I keep writing about Paris on this blog but it is my second favorite place on the planet, after my hometown. Both my sister and I feel a pull to this city. Neither one of us speaks much French but the City of Lights feels like home to us. We can't wait to go back and wander its streets, eat macarons, and take in the beauty that is Paris.

I search for joy at home. I like my little bungalow but there it is hard to look past the incomplete projects and those that need to be started. I doubt I'd have grass to worry about in Paris, which would suit me just fine. I feel safe in my home, which is very important. For now I am not worrying about paying my mortgage, which is definitely important when you have a job that is impacted by the oil industry. It just doesn't bring me joy, not like a hotel room in the Latin Quarter that is convenientely located across the street from a crepe stand.

I wrote yesterday of finding value in life and people, not things. There is where joy should be also. If you look for joy in things or plans, you will probably be disappointed. But joy in moments spent with friends, joy in a beautifully crafted sermon delivered by a pastor dressed like Marty McFly in honor of Back to the Future day, that's where you can count on joy to come through for you.

But, it doesn't hurt to find it on top of the Arc de Triomphe either.
Labels:

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 23, 2015 at 6:14 PM

    I find so many experiences of joy in Paris - not just because there are often creperie within walking distance. But because it is so human and invites me to be human too. In Paris, I simply relax and enjoy with everyone else. I'm glad you find joy there.

    Visiting from Five Minute Friday,

    Drusilla Barron
    http://lovedasif.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AndreaOctober 23, 2015 at 7:58 PM

      I am so glad to hear from someone else who finds Paris relaxing - thank you for visiting!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Minute Friday: Roots

Lisa-Jo Baker (lisajobaker.com) hosts a weekly event on her blog called "Five Minute Friday". The rules are 1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. 2. Link back here and invite others to join in. 3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.. So here's my first try at this. Today's topic was Roots. Roots – I think about my grandparents who lived on a farm until my grandfather’s diabetes worsened and they moved to a town with a hospital nearby. My father still says he wished he could have kept that farm. I think of my grandmother who was a widow for 20 years. Every year she would stand over my PaPa’s grave, wishing she was with him. I think of my parents, a product of those grandparents, how hard my father worked to put 2 girls through
10 comments
Read more

Five Minute Friday: Time

Five Minute Friday is a writing event that has writers spending five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing them at http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/ . This week's word is Time. Sometimes time feels like this, like we are in it. Standing inside it, watching life pass by. It is so easy to get stuck in a time - in our pain, in our hurt. We hear the ache tick away in our head like a giant clock. Time, instead, is a gift. More time with family, more time to accomplish goals, more time to see the world. When you are hurting, it seems like time takes forever. One day turns into another day, turns into another day. When we hate a job, the five days of time that make up a work week seem to go on forever. But those five days are also a gift. Because these days, a job is not a guarantee. I want to see time as gift, not as a chore. I want to be on the other side of it, wishing there was more of it. Making the most of every hour, minute, and second instead of
6 comments
Read more

Five Minute Friday: Mercy

Mercy, this is a tough one for me. I think that's why I waited until Saturday to do Five Minute Friday. I didn't want to face the topic of mercy. I am thankful everyday for God's tender mercies. The first definition of mercy that came up when I googled the word was compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.  This definitiion is my life in a nutshell. How many times has God extended this to me when I deserved to be turned into a pillar of salt like Lot's wife. How many times have I ignored his laws and his proddings and done exactly what I wanted to do. Every time he forgives me and prospers me. Every. time. I know there are people I should show mercy to. People who have broken my heart into more pieces than I can count. I think that I am showing mercy by keeping my disappointment in silence. In a day and age with social media, I could have told everyone that follows them how they have hurt me but I ha
7 comments
Read more