“He who binds himself to a joy, does the winged life destroy; but he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternity’s sunrise.” William Blake
Reading this quote this morning made me pause and reflect. Occasionally glimpses of joy catch us by surprise like the quick fluttering of a butterfly, here one second and gone the next. But isn’t that the best kind of joy? The surprised-by-joy kind? Joy doesn’t often respond well to command performances; ethereal free form seems more in line with living in “eternity’s sunrise.”
I guess that’s the point. Freedom. To receive joy with an open hand of gratitude and pass it on freely with a goodbye kiss, the better for having touched it.
Besides, who knows who (or what) is out there waiting to buzz our joy? (We can only hope Mr. Bee just wants to give a friendly kiss to Ms. Butterfly, eternal sunrises notwithstanding!)
grace, peace & joyful butterflies
Virginia : )
Roses in the Rubble 
Beautiful words of gratitude to receive joy.
Amen, Carol-Jo! The challenge is opening our hearts to joy that pushes us out of our comfort zones… 💐🦋💐🤗💐
Fabulous quote and so true. Beautiful photos! 🙂
Thanks Lisa, I didn’t notice the bee until I loaded pics on my computer! 🐝🦋🐝
Isn’t that great when that happens. That’s what happened to me with that hummingbird. I knew he was in the vicinity but couldn’t see him until I brought it into photoshop and zoomed in. 🙂
That’s my kind of unexpected joy, too, Lisa! 🎊🐝🎊🕊🎊
🙂