I believe in JOY

So, here we go!! Welcome my friends!

For a long time I have been thinking in sharing some of my thoughts and things that I have been using in life for many purposes in the direction of improving the quality of my life and those around me, and so this is another "dream coming through". Thanks for being here with me, I hope you enjoy the ride!

I have always loved writing (like my mom and my daughter!). I guess we are a family of reading and writing lovers. My mom's house and my house are full of books.... everywhere... there isn't a single room in the house that doesn't have books. Yes, even my kitchen has!

So, I thought that a good way to get started here in this new venture would be maybe talking about a book along other things on the way, I wasn't sure. Well, here there are no rules... I will write directly from my heart, so I may jump from a book page to a movie to a trip, etc... and I'm giving myself permission to do that!

First things first, I'm a Brazilian-American living in US since 2012. Here I will also share some interesting things from Brazil that I love so much, hope you enjoy, and the first thing you have to know is that we LOVE ... ellipsis marks... any time you see it, it represents a pause! A thought, sometimes a profound silence added there with a purpose. Ok? Good, so now we can keep going.

Now next, you need to know that I moved to US when I was almost 40 years old, so that means that for most of my life I only spoke Portuguese. So please be kind with me when you see grammar errors - you can correct me for sure, and I appreciate it, but try to get the whole thing instead of focusing in small details. Sometimes when we keep ourselves stuck in minor things and errors we may miss the message!

Here in this blog you will hear me talking about myself, some family experiences, friends, crafts, students and so many more things. What else you will hear me talking? That I'm a true BELIEVER. Yes, I believe that there is a power source of the Universe that knows more and knows better and has been guiding me all the way (as well is guiding you to be here now). I call it God, but what I have learned is that whatever name you decide to call it, it's there (and here) for us all the time, no exceptions. I believe!

And a big gift we received moving to US was a new word.... JOY. Yes, I learned this word with the excitement that a little child will have when receiving a new gift! It truly was and it still is. This word has no translation for Portuguese, unfortunately. There we have words for happiness, excitement, love, and so many more, but not for JOY. Joy and enjoy were big gifts in my life. How just a simple word can say so much?? Enjoy is much more powerful than having fun, is more complete than being happy... I mean, no words... we just feel it right? So yes, I believe that when we are following our journey with JOY we do feel God presence in our hearts!

I didn't really know exactly how to start this conversation here and then I remembered of a book that I love so much, from a Brazilian author that is now very famous around the World. I read this book first time long long ago, when I was around 14-15years old and Paulo Coelho was just another author there. Life goes in crazy rides, and I have forgotten this book, until recently 2 people in the same day told me about this book.... ok... here is another thing I know. I pay attention! I believe, I do ask for guidance and I'm aware when the message is coming! So, I read the book again, and now when I was thinking on how to start this conversation, this book came to my mind. I opened in one of the pages that I have folded the corner to find it easily later (I always do that, and my husband say that it doesn't make sense to fold corner of most all pages....LOL... and that happens a lot for me!).

So, the book is "The Alchemist" from Paulo Coelho and here what the page I folded says:

"Every second of the search is an encounter with God. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I've known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I've discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve". "Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him".

And then, I couldn't be more happy..... yes, that's the message I want to start this new venture - WE ALL have a treasure inside us, and when we enjoy the ride of life and GO WITH JOY, we feel that we are guided and loved and worthy. So, here we go! Just a beginning of a together journey I will love to share with you, because we can make the difference in our lives and in the lives of those around us!

God bless you! Take care and let me know your thoughts, let's keep the conversation going!

Much love,

Claudia

PS: please add your email to the list, so you will know when I write next time....