Tag: joy

March 2026 Blog/Poetry and Prose – 1

Cassandra Johnson

3-27-2026: The laughter in the moment is so quiet and contagious, until it erupts and we move our bodies in camaraderie at the humor and movement and away from the anxieties of the day, of being mistreated, being marginalized and in our superior moment of good feeling, we rise above the negativity, the bullying that rages at our ever-appearing joy.

As we move through these tumultuous times when so many people are being attacked because they hold less power in the face of depraved government officials that impose their will upon us, we still hold on to our joyous moments, intermittently and for a vast majority of the time. We earn our money justly and take care of ourselves and each other.

We watch movies, enjoy our favorite foods, and laugh within our complementary senses of humor. It is so important that we have family and friends now, that we have our community and moments of joy – zen moments to enjoy ourselves and each other. Funny movies, funny shows, profound books, deep reflections as well as things not to take too seriously. We support ourselves on our resources and reflections so that we can keep fighting, prevailing and protecting.

Then, we realize we are powerful. Rather, we are reminded in moments that people still have a need to be liked by us, to believe in their messages and propaganda, lest they be questioned and know the real truth they are trying to hide within their power. We do not respect them in their unearned spaces, pushing all of us out who truly earned our accolades and actually deserve the spaces they steal from us.

Credit to The Joy Reid Show and The Daily Show respectively, for Moment of Joy and Moment of Zen and the reminders underscoring how much I like to write reflectively in poetry and prose.

Ours to Claim

March 30, 2023 by Cassandra Johnson

As I found myself doing my gratitude recognition and being prayerfully mindful of the simple things I have like my basic needs and even many desires, I realized what I can easily overlook. I usually recognize what is recent and constant but had to note, there is something more. There is another more grounded foundation for gratitude. This aspect can be irreplaceable. There is the appreciation for the multitude of experiences passed, places I got the honor of seeing, circles in which I moved, and people who accepted me in the most respectable, affectionate ways and then there are people to whom I had the pleasure of providing help, encouragement and support.

The memories of circumstances, events, past friends and current friends will always have their place. You and I cannot be robbed of these fortunes. There is an appreciation for experiences and circumstances I will always hold dear or from which I was able to recover and learn. We are all fashioned with a unique story. I am sure we can think of interesting people we have met, people that find us interesting, misfortune we have escaped or surpassed, and just simply being somewhere maybe especially fun or peaceful. The fact is no one can take away the moments you were able to live through and the personal way they made you feel. They will always have space and credit for being a part of your process. We get to be here and unlike new developments, there is an irreplaceable gratitude we can affix to the lives we have lived, to date.

Getting to experience the college student’s life was one stand out. Immediately following high school, I got to be the first in my immediate family to go away for this honor. I am lucky my parents and several of my teachers normalized this path for me. You get quite the momentum when people support your progress and or/ treat your path as given.

Being able to explore my cultural interests has been another spotlight. Volunteering freely here and in South America was a reminder of being in a brave and comfortable enough place to decide to uproot my life and provide some assistance for others. I can always appreciate the extended leap I took. Otherwise, I could have never counted so many international people among my friends.

Thanks to my parents, I also feel there is this work and study ethic forged inside my brothers and I, adding to our perseverance and endurance.  I cannot say all forms of striving are healthy or necessary (it can go left) but I am happy to see many instances were efforts equal purpose and achievement. The incredible influence that my parents, their parents and our ancestors have on us is something I can be grateful to hold within me, especially when I am down. Eventually, I get back to hope.

I am grateful no one can take away our experience. No one can take away all we got to do and see and who we got to meet. For better or worse, as I get older, I am remembering how I have survived and in what I have relished. I am remembering to have appreciation for moments passed. Different circumstances, different settings, different crowds. Remaining grateful for what comes now, I am pleased we get to have so many priceless gems tucked away.

buy me a hot chocolate

Play Big. Play Often.

APRIL 29, 2020 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON
Image Credit by Alexas_Fotos on Pixabay

Life being too short and precious, experiencing grief and seeing it unfold reminds me how I want to appreciate what we have. I think about how I want to approach each goal and how I want to simply live and share without overthinking it and without dismissing opportunities.

Whether it be future travels, social connections, or our livelihoods, I’m sure we all have unique expressions to continually bring to the world. This is a place you can always share yours.

This has been a sad time for the world collectively, on every imaginable level. This has also been a time of resilience and revelation. We could take the time to reexamine our goals. We could become better at old skills, learn some new ones. We could take a moment, work on reducing stress and getting rest. We could take care of our souls. I think one part of staying healthy and whole is being aware of the right choices for ourselves as often as possible – figuring out what is true for us and void of external influences. Though we are irreplaceable to one another and we need our environment and our community, awareness can go a dangerous way. We may have found this out very early, when we were in school and perhaps became painfully aware of some difference between us and other classmates. We may have felt it and not been able to verbalize it.

When I wrote similarly about this a few days ago, it seemed as easy as “being true to yourself”. The harder part I know is doing that in the context of working not to be judged, trying not to fail and making sure to have all your needs met. For me, that means I equally haven’t taken 100 percent of the risks which I knew weren’t technically dangerous. The biggest threat was to the seeming comfort of not standing out. However, I’m pleased to have grown older and earned my “RiskySafeTravels”, when for seemingly inexplicable reasons, I don’t question my initial good instincts.

Risks seem tiny and large from day to day even in something like sharing an interest, defending someone, or me dancing before the club has officially transitioned from dinner to party hour.

I never want to encourage others or myself to take risks that put their lives or anyone else’s life in danger, nor take any risks that would alter their social or financial ability to live securely. However, I venture to encourage us to pay attention to natural joy. My joy seemed stifled from time to time, conforming in unwelcome circumstances. I see joy as not being secured from anything purchased or some great compliment we can receive. True, we can delight in such pleasure and appreciate it, but in me, it’s those times of being okay or getting to being okay, no matter what. Self-acceptance and acceptance of others, being creative, immersed in a passion project and talent, it’s just there. It’s just there, complementing a sense of well-being, providing peace and welcoming the kind of challenges that help us grow rather than drain us.

With even more time to reflect, I am interested in taking bigger chances on some skills and experiences I’ve played with just a little here and there. I’m playing two roles this week. One is employee and the second is owner. No surprise that the second needs some more focus. 😊 Not that it’s any less commendable to enhance a quality organization’s mission statement, but truly important to remember your own.