Basket of Joy - Ice Cream for the Soul by Joy Koenig, MD - Personal Growth, Wellness, Healthy Lifestyle, Meditation, Inspiration

BASKET OF JOY
CATEGORY

        Mindful Meditation

DESCRIPTION

        Fill a basket or bowl with words that bring you joy.

INSTRUCTIONS

        Buy or make a basket or bowl that is big enough for a large person to insert a hand, move it around, and easily pull it back out again while holding on to something. Next, buy or make Angel or Wisdom cards. To make your own, make a photocopy of the list of characteristics and traits in the SYMBOLISM section, and cut the words apart. If you like, you can paint them onto small stones or write them on cards with illustrations. Not feeling artistically gifted? Create them on your computer using computer generated graphics. Instead of single words, you can type up lists of quotes. Draw one every day, every week, or just for special occasions. See what type of energy is dancing around you.

RELATED IDEA

        Pass the basket at your group meeting or religious service.

JOY'S JOURNEY

        My sister died three months after my divorce, while I was in the middle of changing jobs and moving from Ohio to Massachusetts. As part of that process, I had to attend a three week training session in Atlanta, Georgia. I felt extremely alone when I was told that she'd died. I didn't know anyone yet , since I was living in a hotel room, and had just started the job four days earlier. Although my new colleagues were sympathetic about my loss, it was an abstract concept to them -- they didn't know Irene, so they didn't really know what I'd lost. I felt particularly stuck because my new boss had told me I'd be labeled "an emotional and hysterical female" if I left their prestigious training program to be with my family. So, I stayed in town, and decided to accept an invitation to attend church with a former high school classmate that now lived in Atlanta. He had known her. He would know exactly what I'd lost.

        I sat in the pew, only half listening to the service, lost in my misery. I have to admit that I was feeling quite sorry for myself -- recently divorced (and wondering if I'd ever find true love), temporarily without a home, separated from my friends, and working for health "experts" who didn't understand or appreciate grief or the grieving process! My thoughts spiraled downward. "I'm only twenty-eight, and look what has already happened to me! What awful things might still be ahead of me? What did I do to deserve such sadness and grief in my life? Did I do something unforgivable in a past life?"

        I was nudged out of my painful reverie by someone handing me a wicker basket filled with strips of paper, whispering, "Pick one and pass it on." I half-heartedly picked one, read it, then re-read it and started to cry. This is the Bible verse I drew: "For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11.

        Twelve years later, I still have that piece of paper. It sits on my fireplace mantel, in front of my amethyst geode, next to the choir of wicker angels a friend bought for me. Whenever I doubt my path, I look at all the things on my HOME BASE and remember that, even when I feel that way, I am never really alone.

QUOTES
Only God can draw a random number.
Unknown

A pretty basket does not prevent worries.
Congoese Proverb

Dr. Joy is available to present playful workshops (playshops) at your corporate training retreat, non profit organization gathering, or club membership meetings. She is located in Denver, Colorado, and travels throughout the US to deliver Serious Fun ™ Programs for personal growth, wellness, and inspiration. Please see the program pages for details and contact information.

This playful meditation activity is COPYRIGHTED. If you are a professional trainer, coach, human resources person, counselor, or therapist it is not ethical nor legal for you to use it or share it with your clients or those you supervise/train as part of your job. See the copyright notice on the front page of this e-book. Remember, character is what you do when no one is looking. Please take the high road, and pay me appropriately to use these materials professionally, even if you work for a church, school, non-profit or the government.