Where do you find your bliss? Recently, my mind wandered to the concept of bliss, and I wondered where people I love and care about find it.
Bliss, as described in part by Merriam-Webster is "complete happiness ... paradise ... heaven ..."
Bliss also has been described as completely living in the moment and finding great joy in a simple, singular observation, event, afternoon, or experience ... finding happiness in the present. And in that state of bliss, not obsessing about the past or worrying about the future.
I can't imagine living in a constant state of bliss--not in this life, anyway. But it hits me regularly, particularly in nature and during pleasant times with family and friends. Add prayer to it, and the experience can be pretty powerful.
Most of my moments of bliss are set off by simple, stunning visual cues in nature.
The exquisite beauty of a spring flower.
A butterfly landing on a fluffy plant in the dappled sunlight.
Discovering the simple outline of a leaf under the sparkling snow.
Other times, bliss is more auditory.
Like the sound of spring songbirds.
Or gentle rain dropping on summer foliage.
Often, the bliss experience involves all the senses--sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch.
There are many other catalysts, too, but I don't want to bore you. I want to know: Where do you find your bliss?
Spring flowers are always interesting me. There's no Spring time here...
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine not experiencing spring...but then you don't have to deal with winter, which would be nice. To always have green, growing things must be wonderful. I've never had a year of my life without spring-summer-fall-winter. I can't even imagine it!
DeleteOh my . . .
ReplyDeleteLoved your Bliss . . .
For me . . .
Fresh air . . .
Buds . . . Flowering . . .
Color . . .
Eye sparkle, laughter of great grands . . .
Walking . . . bird chirps . . .
Being home . . . comfy clothes . . .
Fresh snowfall . . .
A really good soup . . .
Feeling healthy, happy, content . . . BLISS . . .
Thanks, Lynne. Yes, all those things (except grandkids and great-grands, although I hope to have them someday) speak to me, too. I'm noticing how most of the things that solicit bliss for me occur in spring, summer, and fall. It's harder to experience it (for me) in winter, although there are moments. :)
DeleteBeth, your post is Bliss FULL. All of these things and more. When I get into that state of creativity of painting or making a book, a walk in nature I can be taken away...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lisa. I wish I could paint. In winter, reading, listening to great music, being with family, or just feeling a great sense of warm comfort can be blissful. In the other seasons, it happens just about every day. :)
DeleteBeth, you've visually captured moments of bliss. Like you, most of my blissful moments come from observing nature's wonders, the golden slant of light can create magical moments. I can also get lost in the beauty of art and the changing moods of stained glass.
ReplyDeleteYes! The slant of the light and how it hits objects in unique ways amazes me sometimes! Great art and definitely stained glass inspire, as well.
DeleteWhile I often experience fleeting moments of bliss, usually in my garden or someone else's, my greatest extended periods of pure joy usually come about in early spring when the garden provides one wonderful surprise after another. Oh, and I bliss out when it rains!
ReplyDeleteI hear you! In spring--when it really gets going--I feel like I'm being set free to experience great joy once again. And then it continues until it gets cold and gray in November. A warm rain...that is...yeah, words fall short.
DeleteHoping to wake to the bliss of gentle rain tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteI wish this for you too, Diana.
DeleteMy bliss - Flowers and Butterflies!
ReplyDeleteLove the leaf in the snow photo
I agree: Flowers and butterflies can't be beat. And sometimes really simple things like mosses and leaf stencils in the snow take my breath away!
DeleteI love the golden light of late afternoon, no matter the time of year. I wish it could last several more hours than it does, it's so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYes, sometimes that light and then the brilliant sunsets are so unbelievable ... I almost wish I could capture that magic beauty in a bottle. Photos can't do it justice.
DeleteWonderful images, challenging to think what makes me feel blissful. Looking at nature in real life, but also beautiful artistic images like in this post. But nothing always me feel blissful. I have to be relaxed, rooted in the present and then it hardly matters where I am or what I'm doing to feel happy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Catmint! I agree: much of it is a state of mind, and an open mind to the little surprises and miracles all around us!
DeleteI have to agree with Lisa on all points. Though today with the blah skies and ice, bliss is sitting in front of the fire with a stack of garden books and magazine.
ReplyDeleteI've been searching for bliss lately, too, in magazines and garden books (and catalogs and fiction books and ...). Ice keeps me inside, as well. Hopefully, all of it will be melted in the next few days.
DeleteMy time spent out in nature. If I am in the garden working, or if I am enjoying a ski or a hike. My time outside is bliss!!
ReplyDeleteI love that 4th photo you shared today.
Every season has its beauty and bliss, right? Even winter with its white-powder-covered leaves. ;-) For some reason I appreciate winter more when it's almost over.
Deletefor me ... the expansive views of the American West! Not sure why, and I've pondered it a lot ... does my obvious insignificance make worries vanish? Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the American West! I can't argue with that. Some of my most amazing moments are memories of trips out West. For me, it's nature in just about any setting, though. Each ecosystem has its own unique beauty and wonder!
DeleteWatching bees on flowers, especially bees crawling in and out of Penstemon and bumblebees on Baptisia.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm dreaming of those activities now, and the memory is almost blissful. ;-)
Deletein gardening terms, the first sight of a bloom in a tree at the end of a harsh winter, or the green signs of bulbs sprouting in a frosted grass, that's a bliss!!
ReplyDeleteI agree! I feel like winter is a bit of a prison, and when the new signs of life start to break forth, it's almost like someone has opened a door and is saying, "Go out and play! Be free!"
DeleteThere are studies about how being in nature lessens negative rumination. I do find that worry usually disappears when being outside. And outside is often where those moments of bliss come - usually when I sit outside with my family with the kids playing happily.
ReplyDeleteThat is a sweet, blissful image, Indie. I remember when my kids were little and we'd spend most of our free summer days outside. The kids would hang out on the swings and the sandbox, and I'd spend my days hanging laundry and gardening. Pure, pure bliss!
DeleteFor me, spring joy is the singing of birds, flowers and butterflies. * Flowers on my cliffs are: Martha Armeria. A colleague who lives there calls them: seapinks. Regards.
ReplyDeleteYes! Spring is so blissful! Thanks for the information about your wildflowers--they are so beautiful!
DeleteA wonderful post to ponder Beth....I find bliss when I connect with life.....in nature, with those I love, when I create. It is sensory and oh so wonderful. I have also discovered bliss when I connect with my soul and stay out of my head leaving worry behind.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donna. Connecting with the soul is key, isn't it? Sometimes I find bliss when the combination of head, heart, and hands is just right--when I'm thinking, feeling, and acting in balance. Those times are so special. :)
DeleteOh, ditto, ditto and ditto, Beth! And when I see a plant that I've nurtured "blossom" so to speak, especially when it comes to perennials that can take a while to settle in. I am looking forward to one of those blissful moments this year when my Echinacea (that I grew from seed) sees its first true spring in the ground and hopefully tells me how much it's loving its new home with lush growth and a few blooms.
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret: Yes, the miracle of nurturing new life is incredible, isn't it?! So many miracles right in front of us as gardeners!
DeleteYour 'blissful' posting, Beth, makes me count my blessings. I usually relate bliss to my garden, especially in spring -- my favorite season there. Stunning photos, as always. P. x
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pam. I think bliss hits me more when I'm grateful, too. Grateful, gardening, and gazing. :-) Bliss hits me frequently in spring, summer, and fall. I struggle to find it in winter, because I don't like to be cold. But it's good to have a pause, and winter gives me that. :)
DeleteLooking at your photos is already delightful or well blissful. I haven't seen any garden with desert plants only a handful during garden shows here with such theme. So what we see are very small samples of the real ones, we just content ourselves with that.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea: So much beauty all around us! Each location has its own special charm and personality!
Delete