This is our final Glimmers of Joy for 2022. I am retiring and so this is my final submission for the program.
So many different aspects of what we have covered in the past two years has included how to find those glimmers of joy during a pandemic, and the political strife and all the other normal experiences of living. I enjoyed the journey with you. I stretched my experience level to learn how to do the video with the PowerPoint and the process was rocky at first, but in time it became much easier to create. I have enjoyed the phone calls, emails, texts, messages of how a certain topic hit the spot for you, or you had an experience to share. Thank you for sharing the information with your friends and family. Thank you to everyone for the support of shifting gears and moving to this mode of delivery to keep the joy momentum going.
As the 2022 holidays approach, we may start to feel anxiety and stress for all we want to accomplish and do. How can we make others happy and find time to enjoy the special moments? How do we find the glimmers of joy?
In 1985 I left secondary school teaching and moved to Extension work. I loved teaching and I loved working with people of all ages, but Extension work was my niche. In the video below you'll hear how I took something I "missed" from my middle school/high school teaching, writing quizzes, and developed the "Christmas Quiz." It was fun, it was creative, and it described life in Extension. One of the favorite questions in the annual quiz was, "the phone calls of the year." And yes, some of those phone calls can get a little out of the ordinary with a full moon. Reading those quizzes tells my life story in so many ways -- it gives me a glimmer of joy. One year as postage was going up in cost, I decided to discontinue mailing the quiz to some folks that I hadn't heard from in a while and I got special requests for it into January from folks asking for it. What I realized was that I also was missing the card/letters from those folks as our annual check in with what was happening in their lives.
I share with you a tool I've used many times of the years, the Jahari window, it helps me determine my most valued priorities and you don't need a fancy computer program or app to use the thought process. Paper and pencil can do the trick and I talk about that in the video as well.
What is your Ikigai? What is your passion? mission? vocation? What do you love? I talk about this Japanese concept in the video as well.
In summary:
