Leaflet Radiance: Creating a life of Radiance Through the Joy of Small & Simple Things
It all begins with an idea.
(An Excerpt from the upcoming book: Leaflet Radiance)
Where’s Your Focus?
It happened unexpectedly, a laugh out of nowhere. Was that me? Did that sound really come out of this body? It was almost foreign after what seemed like such a long stretch of seriousness, sadness, and pain. And yet there it was, laughter. It felt so good. Joy. Even if just for a moment, there it was and I wanted it to linger forever. Was I allowed to feel joy even in the midst of the trial I was experiencing? It almost felt wrong, like I was cheating life somehow to laugh in the middle of a difficult experience. And then it hit me, “men [and women] are that they might have joy.” Russell M. Nelson said, “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives, and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” So, we can have joy no matter what our circumstances? Even in the hardest trials of our lives? How is that even possible?
Back to the laugh. What brought it on? When nothing in my life felt like it was going right, how did I just have that moment of happiness? The answer? Simplicity. It wasn’t an elaborate comedian who knew just what to say, it was a good friend being herself. She was authentically her, and exactly what I needed at that moment.
Why does winter often seem so bleak? Is it the gloomy sky? Maybe. Is it the cold wind and everyone being shut up inside awaiting spring? Perhaps. My theory? I think it’s the lack of leaves on the trees. I grew up in the beautiful Pacific Northwest in Washington state. Since so much of the area was covered with pine trees, we never had to let go of our leaves. Sure, it got dark earlier and the sun was hiding much of the winter, but there was something about that greenery that brought hope and joy. Not to mention those evergreens were gorgeous covered with snow. When I moved to Utah to go to college I loved the beautiful colors in the fall, but when those leaves fell off the trees and left them bare, I felt like it was the longest winter on earth! Everything was so bleak and brown. People would call it BeaUTAHful and I could not understand where in the world they got that notion…however, when spring brought an explosion of green leaves, carpeted hills, and even gorgeous spring blossoms, I began to see the light and the joy came back! What is it about those tiny little leaves and colorful blossoms that can make you feel alive again? The collaboration of so many small and simple things both seen and unseen, give us that hope that the bleak and dark can not only come alive again, but become exceedingly beautiful and breathtaking!
Then how the heck can anyone live in a desert? When I first visited Phoenix, Arizona, that was my initial thought. However, I was shocked to find some pretty incredible plants and flowers that thrived in the area. Then, after living in Flagstaff, Arizona, once again among my beloved pine trees for almost a decade, I came to absolutely love our monthly trips to Phoenix and surprisingly even found the Saguaro cactus to be beautiful eventually!
They key to finding beauty and joy even in a desert? Once again, simplicity. It’s the little things. When you focus on dirt, your life begins to feel like…well…dirt! When you focus on the blossoms, your life begins to feel like…well… a garden. It’s magical how the focus can change the view; or is it? It’s actually pretty practical when you really think about it.
When you live in a desert there may not be a lot of leaves to focus on, sometimes only cactus…but even those can grow flowers, and are filled with life giving water if you look a little closer, and cut past the spikes. Yep, sometimes finding the joy in the desert, may take work, but for those willing to look, flowers and refreshment can be found.
What is Leaflet Radiance?
One of my favorite quotes says, “Life is not about finding yourself; life is about creating yourself.” The author? Anonymous. My young daughter informed me one day that Anonymous said a lot of great things. So true. That cracked me up, so I wrote it down. I write down all the funny, cute, and amusing things my kids say. Why? Because some day I know it will make them laugh the way it did me in the moment, and I can read it when I’m old and grey and need a pick-me-up. I write it so I can use it in my Christmas cards and laugh about it again as I’m writing and share that gift with my friends and family. It’s the same reason I keep nice letters and cards that people send to me. It brings me little nuggets of joy when I need them most. To me, a kind word is almost better than the gift. Or is it better? Well, it depends on the gift I guess, but gifts eventually wear out, and words never do. So maybe that’s the true answer for which is most important in the long run. Just to make sure my husband doesn’t read that and decide he’s off the hook for buying me gifts for the rest of our lives, I also LOVE surprises, and gifts, just sayin’!
But, I digress, let’s get back to the focus of this book. Joy. Simplicity. Focus. I titled this book Leaflet Radiance for a good reason. I already explained my love of greenery, in spite of my lack of a green thumb. What is a leaflet you ask? It is a leaflike structure that works together to make a compound leaf in certain types of trees. Basically, it’s a smaller segment to make up the greater leaf. Combine a few leaflets and you get a leaf, combine many leaves and you get a beautiful tree! It’s the combination of many small things to make up the greater beauty and joy. Once that tree is flourishing, it provides not only beauty, but shade, shelter, food, oxygen, and so many other gifts to all around it. It is a haven.
So why Radiance? Radiance is defined as great happiness that is obvious through someone’s expression or person’s way of acting. I have a quote hanging in my bedroom that says, “See the beauty in all things.” The first time I saw it I laughed because it reminded me of a story of a friend of mine as she sat in line at a grocery store with her four small children. An older woman looked at her with her young family and pleasantly stated, “You will miss every moment of these days, I sure do!” When telling this story, my friend stated, “Every moment? Really? I’m pretty sure I will never miss EVERY moment of these days!” Anyone who has ever had kids can certainly relate. I don’t miss midnight feedings, dirty diapers, and temper tantrums! On the flip side I will always miss tiny newborn cuddles, tight toddler hugs, and adorable childhood laughter and wonder. Every moment of life has its’ hard things that you can’t wait to move beyond, those thorns and spikes, but there are also blossoms and life if you have eyes to see and are willing to work through the thorns. Sometimes the thorns are huge and the flowers are tiny, but which one you focus on makes a world of difference as to how you see life in general. Thus, Leaflet Radiance is using the little things in life to boost your ability to find and feel joy.