Begin with Joy

Linda Hickok

Sunsets and No Regrets

– Posted in: Connect to Joy

I love watching sunsets. Sometimes there is beauty, but always there is closure. Mourning the passing of a loved one is painful.  It feels much like a fading sunset. Yet I do know that mourning the passing of a loved one is “easier” when there are few regrets. That is, when there has been opportunity [...]

24/7 Connection

– Posted in: Connect to Joy

So when did being “connected” all the time become the norm? Just because we have cell phones and internet, it does not follow that we are required to engage 24/7. I recall a conversation with a lawyer that took place 20 years ago. He was bewailing the introduction of the fax machine. I asked why [...]

How to Enjoy an Airport

– Posted in: Connect to Joy

It is a scientific fact that if you can experience joy while waiting for your flight in an airport, you can experience joy anywhere. Joy, you say? I know. These days funeral homes are more joyous. If you define the opposite of joy as : security personnel scowling at you, overpriced food, uncomfortable and overcrowded [...]

External Noise

– Posted in: Connect to Joy

Snapple make fine non-carbonated iced tea drinks and I must admit that I have a fondness for their diet peach tea flavor. But Snapple doesn’t stop at flavor. Under each bottle cap is a “Real Fact”.   Most are fun and not so relevant – such as, the definition of  “octothorpe“. (The answer to be [...]

Routine Essentials

– Posted in: Connect to Joy

It was a routine business trip, a routine flight, a routine city, a routine hotel. As is my routine, I checked into my room and prepared to unpack. I opened my suitcase to hang up my clothes to be worn the next day. That’s where routine hit a bump in the road. I stared at [...]

Past Perfect – Present Imperfect- Future Imperfect Tenses

– Posted in: Connect to Joy

I’ve reinvented a bit of my life’s grammar. “Present Perfect” is now “Present Imperfect” and “Future Perfect” is now “Future Imperfect”. Why? I am on a journey to shed perfectionism from my vocabulary and thoughts. Perfectionism is insidious. It permeates the crevices of our thinking. It can inform our actions. It can cause much pain. [...]