Finding Joy through Amanda Gore

Hi Friends,

Thank you for joining me for another week. I had a great week this week. Well I had a great day, Thursday, which made up for the rest of the week, because the first of the week kind of sucked. Wait... It was the end of last week that sucked

Anywho, Real quick, I lost my ATM card for the second time in a month. I still had my temporary card which I used until I went shopping and bought a cart full of groceries and it wouldn't go through. Embarrassing!

I went to the bank's ATM hoping it was Walmart and not my card, but when I still couldn't get money out I went over to Target (since I was to embarrassed to go back to Walmart) to use my $6.00 I found in my pants while looking for my card to buy dinner. But when I went to get the lasagna it cost $8.00 not $6. Luckily some great friends of mine were there and saved me by giving me a little extra so I could by dinner, Thank you! So then Monday a had to call and order a new card and go over to the bank to get a temporary card.

Ok as I'm writing this, it doesn't sound that bad. There are people out there that have it a lot worse then I do. But for me it stressed me out.

Well Tuesday and Wednesday went about the same as normal, but I was feeling down and in this funk. Thursday when I still seemed down I decided to listen to some Ted talks that address JOY and HAPPINESS. It was exactly what I need to here.

One of the talks I listened to was from Amanda Gore, she is a motivational speaker from Australia, and her talk was The Secret Formula for Joy.

There were 3 basic points of the talk were.

1. Stop judging. (We all do it, even if we don't think we do, so stop it.)
2, Drop to your heart. (This is basically finding that space in your heart to to let the joy in. This is the     place for love, wisdom, inspiration, and the source of Joy.)
3. Zoot everyone. (Zoot, is her word for spreading love to everyone.)

I loved this talk especially the Zoots. Sending Zoots is sending love to everyone and when we send love to everyone it helps us physically as well as emotionally. It also doesn't just help us it helps those around us.

This is what I bought.  They're a heart!

Take for instance yesterday, I decided to leave a little ZOOT for my family so I bought these breakfast bars for my family and wrote a little love note wishing them a Happy Friday and left it for them just to say hi and give them a little Zoot from me to them. And it made me feel so good and brought joy to my morning. Then from what they told me it brought some joy to there day. And that's the whole point.


Man, after listening to this video I was really feeling full of Joy. I literally wanted to dance out to my car after work. I didn't dance, but I had a bounce to my step. And you know what happened I saw a hidden Mickey on the parking garage floor, then I got in my car turned on the radio and "Good Vibrations" from the Beach Boys was playing (I listen to the oldie station a lot) the I turned the station and "Good to be Alive (Hallelujah)" by Andy Grammer was playing. Needless to say by the time I got home that night I was flying on such a Joyful natural high. I just wanted to Zoot everyone, so that's when I decided to Zoot my mom and Sisters the next day.

Today before I started writing this I looked up Amanda Gore and was looking around her website and she has what she calls Joy Tribes and it's based on her book The Gospel of Joy and sending out Zoots. I'm not exactly sure what it's all about, but I'm going to get the book and read it and let you know. If anyone else reads it and wants to start up a Joy Tribe with me let me know.

In the mean time, here's my Challenge to you. Watch the Ted talk, here's the link; The Secret Formula for Joy, by Amanda Gore. so you understand more about the Zoots and then go out and Zoot everyone you know and maybe someone you don't know and let me know how it goes.

Well until next time; ZOOT ZOOT!!