by Jackie Jones - Field To Plate

PHOTO BY RON ARIA; HAIR BY AMANDA MACK
Joy to Your World!
Are you a cup-half-full or cup-half-empty person?
I'm in the first group, but sometimes life
spills a little joy juice from my cup. Like
many of you, I've had a few spills lately. One
occurred when I returned to my hometown for the second
of three family funerals in as many weeks. Shortly
after saying a prayer thanking God for a safe landing at
the airport, I got one of those dreaded phone calls in
which I heard my son's name and the word ªambulanceº
in the same sentence. To put it mildly, I lost it.
Support, hugs and prayers from my grieving relatives
helped me recover from my momentary meltdown
so that I could cut my trip short and go take
care of my baby. (Okay, he's 17, but he'll always be my
baby!) I knew that I needed to be strong for my son
and to find the joy in our situation. Yes, we'll miss our
loved ones, but we can celebrate their
lives and find comfort in knowing that
HEART-TO-HEART f
Isn't it
also helped me make it through the day. On the morn-
refreshing to see they are in a better place and free of theings
when I wanted the revolving door to spin me back
people who find pain wracking their bodies. Yes, my son outside onto the sidewalk so that I could go home, I
joy in their lives and his friend (who's like a son) emergedthought
of Sylvia. She found joy in coming to work.
and spread some from a mangled car with cuts, bruises and She found joy in each day of her life. She was always
of it around? fractures, but they're alive!
smiling and never complaining. Sylvia had a lot to
Look inside Finding joy in little and big things complain about±grueling headaches that made it hard
for tips on how keeps us moving forward. It prevents us for her to see, think or stand; not to mention the brain
to join their from being stuck. It shuts down our pity cancer that caused the headaches in the first place and
joyful ranks! parties. It puts smiles on our faces. Best ofthat
cut her life short at 28.
all, it helps to keep us healthy.
So, are you a cup-half-full or cup-half-empty per-
Isn't it refreshing to see people who son? Join me in the first group. Already there? Great! If
find joy in their lives and spread some of it around? you aren't, take tiny steps to add more joy to your
Think about the chipper cashier whose feet hurt, the world. Focus on the good in a bad situation. Stop to
subway conductor who makes lively announcements smell the roses±literally.Think about the riot of color
on routes he's traveled a zillion times, the clerk who on trees in the fall, the lace hanging on branches at first
makes the wait at the Department of Motor Vehiclessnowfall,
the glistening stars in the sky, a gorgeous sun-
less grueling. Think about some of the people whoserise
or sunset, the glow of the moon, the joyful sound
lives have been turned upside down by acts of nature, of voices reverberating on walls at your place of wor-
such as Hurricane Katrina. In addition to working ship, the tranquility of a lake, your first kiss. Look at all
with Heart & Soul, I also teach journalism at Howard the examples in this issue and at heartandsoul.com.
University. Three of my hardest-working students were And if you have any ideas, please share them. None of
affected by Katrina, but you'd never know it. They us can ever have too much joy!
won't let Katrina rob their lives of joy.
I also think of Sylvia Wilson, who helped me look From my heart to yours,
good when I filled in for our boss. That was during my
early days of learning how to run a newspaper section Yanick Rice Lamb
and eventually entire publications. Sylvia stuck by my yricelamb@heartandsoul.com
side through thick and thin, trial and error. She not
only helped me make it to where I am today, but she
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006 · HEARTANDSOUL.COM 7