Joy comes in so many ways. Doing something fun fills us with joy. We laugh and smile and generally feel great. Dogs are very good at expressing Joy - there's just no holding back. Joy also comes with being with your best friends. You can relax and laugh and be yourself.
This week, I was watching one of our dogs standing back and looking a his buddy playing fetch with a ball. We had tried to teach him the game, but we hit a blank wall every time, so rather than keep stressing the little guy, we just let him watch while someone else played. Something else distracted the ball player and he ran off, just as I threw the ball, and the dog watching, suddenly became lit from within, and with a huge sheltie smile thrown back over his shoulder to me, he took off after the ball, picked it up and did a flawless return. I wish I could show you the overwhelming joy on his little face! "I DID IT!!" Now we are all happy - Darcy is in the game too. It made me think of the joy we artists feel when we get something right, something that has up to that moment been elusive and difficult. I also thought about the joy I get in learning. When we were all tender young artists, unsure of ourselves but not wanting anyone to know, I think most of us were reluctant to share what we knew about techniques and materials, and hesitant about learning from others or (gasp!) asking for help. Happily, most of us now have gained the confidence in our own unique gift to share things with other artists when they ask and sometimes even when they don't. As this blog so often proves. :D I Hope all of you will take joy in whatever it is you are doing today. It costs nothing, spreads like wildfire, and makes your world a much more inviting place to be.
Cheers, Heather Anderson www.heatheranderson-animalart.com
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