Wine Barrel of Life

“I hope you fall into this wine barrel (this book) and crawl out legally drunk, and get arrested for doing something that makes God proud of you, like being too happy.” (Ladinsky, 2002, p. xii)

“Go for it , baby; set the world on fire if you can, kick ass for the Beloved with some great art” (Ladinsky, 2002, p. xiv)

As I read these words in the introduction to Daniel Ladinsky’s Love Poems From God, I found myself finding a new way to look at my hopes for the upcoming year. While I would never consider myself an artistic person, I hope that I can live my life in a way that would be considered art. The art of loving, laughing and dancing.

I also hope that I can fall into this wine barrel of a year and crawl out legally drunk with joy and happiness, making God proud of the work I do and the life I live.

Last spring I blogged about WWJD, not as What Would Jesus Do but as Where Will Joy Develop. So, in this new space and adventure, I want to take a moment to share some of the joys that I am enjoying drinking in:

• · Joy develops in hanging out with my 3 amazing roomates and the 4 other fantastic interns
• · Joy develops in the joy of the children I work with in simple science experiements
• · Joys develops in enjoying the beauty of the NYC skyline
• · Joy develops in the adventures of the boys, aka my roomies, in the kitchen
• · Joy develops in free tickets in to the Yankees games
• · Joy develops in dancing at a random Italian festival
• · Joy develops in knowing that I live less than a mile from TLC’s Cake Boss
• · Joy develops in going to see the Statue of Liberty
• · Joy develops in beautiful weather and sunshine
• · Joy develops in the anticipation of seeing people I love
• · Joy develops in receiving letters and finding new cards to send
• · Joy develops in meeting up with Diane in NYC for the San Gennaro Festival
• · Joy develops in finding a wonderful thrift store
• · Joy develops in growing in community at a new church
• · Joy develops in preparing to do an Interfaith Presentation in Nebraska
• · Joy develops in knowing that that the little one is doing well and flourishing at college

If you would like to see some more of the place that joy has developed: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067363&id=59203733&l=4d7c1dfd09

Also, I recommend you check out Love Poems from God. It is a phenomenal book with some amazing poetry from a variety of different traditions.