I took the sub downtown Sunday to see a little bit of the Pride Parade. (I guess it is called Bart, but I never use it, that alone was an adventure. Now I am getting side tracked – but using the map quest app on your iPhone, and checking how to go from A to B by train or bus – it is so smooth! It tells you what bus to take and when it takes off, and of course how long time it takes. You probably already knew this…). Pride. What a colorful folk feast, full with joy and celebration! “I am proud of my straight parents”, “I am proud of my gay son”, “Let the sun shine… ”
It reminded me of when a very good friend of mine stayed with me for a couple of months, while doing a leadership program together two years ago. I had turned my storage space/walk in closet into a combined guest room. He was laughing one morning saying “This feels like coming out of the closet every day!” He is someone who takes pride in who he is, and he is a great role model for others in his community. Recently he opened what has become the #1 bar for lesbians, gays and other positive people in Iceland: “Barbara Sunshine”, where people dance their way out of the recession. I would love to join the dance floor!
What are you hiding in the closet? What talents are you keeping for your self, not sharing with others? Which piece of yourself have you not given attention that is time to let bloom? Share the beauty! Have fun with it. Join a community. For my own joy and self-development I recently joined a few Meet up groups: 1. San Francisco Entrepreneurs, 2. Les Ami(e)s des Francophone and 3. SF Karaoke! Meetup is such a great thing where you can easily dive into your area of interest together with others who have the same passion. If you can’t find a group or live in a country where it doesn’t exist – create it!
Creating joy. Yesterdays issue of the Yoga Journal had an article about Meditation to Invoke Joy. I was happy to read a formal “formula” for it that I could share – I have literally just gone through the process, and it worked for me. My bottom line prescription would be slightly different: 1. Connect with a feeling of absolute joy and happiness that fills your whole body. 2. Repeat it for 5 minutes, 3 times a day, for a month. It works. You simply reprogram your system and your cells get very familiar and addicted to the feeling of joy. Do you want what I have? 😉 Try it!
Take pride in who you are, and let the sun shine!
Johanna
Loving Life Blog 
I get it. Om opened what has become the 1 bar for lesbians gays and other positive people in Iceland âBarbara Sunshineâ where people dance their way out of the recession.