{"id":962,"date":"2009-03-13T17:07:36","date_gmt":"2009-03-13T21:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/?p=962"},"modified":"2020-10-28T19:16:39","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T23:16:39","slug":"laughing-all-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/2009\/03\/laughing-all-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Laughing All the Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe seeds of what we will do are in all of us,\u201d observed Ernest Hemingway, \u201cbut it always seemed to me that in those who can laugh in life the seeds are covered with better soil and a higher grade of manure.\u201d Since I believe that you can\u2019t have too much laughter, I was delighted to learn that it\u2019s time for Prairie Home Companion\u2019s<\/a><\/em> annual joke show.<\/p>\n

In most parts of the country, PHC runs on Saturday evening and, sometimes, again on late Sunday morning. One of my favorite audiobooks on a solitary road trip is PHC\u2019s Pretty Good Jokes<\/em>, a compilation of past shows. Some of them are corny, some clever, a few are risqu\u00e9. It\u2019s all good fun.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although I\u2019ve never been to the Q Kindness Cafe in St. Paul, MN, I have followed the story of how Lisa Cotter Metwaly and her husband turned this struggling enterprise around by making kindness their operating policy. When Lisa sent out\u00a0 this story to her fans, I knew I wanted to pass it along. It\u2019s a brilliant example of making the ordinary into something extraordinary.<\/p>\n

After I helped my archaeologist sister plan her sabbatical, I became wildly envious. Why do only academics get time away? Why had we abandoned the ancient notion of taking regular sabbaticals throughout our lifetimes? I couldn\u2019t find any books for people like me: nonacademic, self-employed, in need of time away. Then I began meeting people who had taken sabbaticals. Every last one of them said, \u201cIt was the best thing I ever did.\u201d I was sold, but not sure how to handle the logistics.\u00a0
\n<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

You can read the rest of my thoughts on Time Away With a\u00a0 Purpose<\/em> by visiting Inspiration Station<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To paraphrase a quote from Lady Holland, \u201cIdeas, like babies, grow larger with nursing.\u201d\u00a0Alice Barry and I are launching a movement to rescue and nurture neglected ideas. We figure such an undertaking begins by sharing what we know about nurturing ideas. We\u2019ve set aside two days in May and we\u2019re heading to Dodge City, KS to the ultimate ideafest. We\u2019re calling it Follow Through Camp <\/a>and it\u2019s designed to stimulate and encourage creative thinking and problem solving. Love to have you along. It is going to be serious fun.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never met JoEllen Berryman, but after getting this message from her, I’d love to meet her. Her story is a study in flexibility and taking responsibility for staying inspired.<\/p>\n

I am a freelance photo stylist. \u00a0I do the setups they shoot for ads and catalog, beds, drapes, curtains. \u00a0You have seen my work with Martha Stewart and Bed Bath and Beyond. \u00a0This last year has been my hardest. \u00a0Budget cuts and rate cuts and lost gigs. I am now looking for other means of income. \u00a0This has led me to look into all kinds of things. \u00a0Dog walking….which is really fun and babysitting which I love as well. \u00a0Not afraid to do things that are new so now\u00a0
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I am \u00a0studying Internet marketing….that has been scary and challenging. \u00a0I actually was looking for a way to get traffic to <\/em>my web site<\/em><\/a> that shows my work\u00a0to people in the industry. \u00a0Now I see that the ideas are endless.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I really dig what you are doing. \u00a0I joined a Gospel choir at Middle Collegiate Church here in NYC. \u00a0I hadn’t sung in over 30 years. \u00a0I moved here as a song and dance actress and got sidetracked. \u00a0Singing with this choir has saved me from going into despair and fear. \u00a0It is impossible to stay down when you are singing. \u00a0The choir is open….everyone is welcome. \u00a0You are right on the money when you encourage people to try things they normally wouldn’t do. \u00a0It feeds every aspect of my life. \u00a0When I see the joy in the faces of the crowds we sing for, it is so rewarding. \u00a0It is the ultimate high. \u00a0It has also given me oppor tunities I never would have dreamed possible. \u00a0We sang back up for Debby Harry of\u00a0 Blondie. \u00a0When I was dancing to her music in the clubs I never dreamed I would be on stage with her at the ripe old age of 58. \u00a0Life truly is an amazing adventure if you leave yourself open.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I also do volunteer work. \u00a0Nothing gets you off the pity pot faster than helping someone else. Went to New Orleans to help gut homes and went back the following year to help paint etc. \u00a0Those experiences were priceless. \u00a0Better than any luxury vacation I have been on.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I just wanted to cheer you on. \u00a0What you are sharing with the world are such important lessons. \u00a0Everyone is so caught up in doom and gloom and your stuff made me smile. \u00a0Let us remember that 96% of the USA still have jobs and 98% are paying their mortgages on time. \u00a0We are looking at the wrong end of the statistics. \u00a0Hope needs to be projected as people frozen in fear is a bigger problem than the lost jobs. \u00a0Fear stops you from moving forward. \u00a0We all need to keep moving and take ACTION. \u00a0Baby steps will do just fine.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

If you are ever in New York look me up. \u00a0It would be a joy to meet such a positive spirit. The Collegiate Churches could sure use a seminar by you. \u00a0
\n<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

Joyous, happy and free,<\/em><\/p>\n

JoEllen Berryman<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe seeds of what we will do are in all of us,\u201d observed Ernest Hemingway, \u201cbut it always seemed to me that in those who can laugh in life the seeds are covered with better soil and a higher grade of manure.\u201d Since I believe that you can\u2019t have too much laughter, I was delighted…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[243],"tags":[245,246,247,244],"class_list":["post-962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekend-excursions","tag-prairie-home-companion","tag-pretty-good-joke-show","tag-q-kindness-cafe","tag-sabbaticals","jsn-master"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=962"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7294,"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/962\/revisions\/7294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}