In the yin and the yang of life, dark cannot exist without light. Joy surrounds us everyday, but some days we relish it, some days we ignore it, and some days we have to dig deeper to uncover it. On a day-to-day basis, many emotions can overwhelm and mask the joy. But as dark, as sad, as pained, or as impassive as we feel, we must strive to find the yang in our lives – the light that keeps us going, the gratitude for what we have, and all the joy that exists in our lives.
#1 – Finding the Key to Empowerment
Singer Alicia Keys wrote an inspirational guest editorial on What It Means to Be Empowered. Here’s an excerpt, but you’ll want to read it in its entirety:
To be empowered to me means finding our own way every day– learning more about ourselves so we can be honest and bold in our choices and actions, and not let anyone deafen the voice that whispers within us to help us find our direction. Trust yourself! No one knows you better than you and it’s truly a beautiful thing!
#2 – The New Old
More ideas for upcycling, but his time it’s all about sweaters! Whether old, out-dated, or too small, you’ll want to hang on to some of those sweaters after you see these 30 Easy and Cuddly DIY Ideas for Recycling Old Sweaters.
#3 – Circle the Cat
How hard can it be to block a “cat” from jumping off a rectangle of green dots? Pretty darn hard! I played this addictive Circle the Cat computer game a few times with zero success. If you beat the game, let me know how you did it!
#4 – With A Little Thread . . .
Photo by Masaki Koizumi
Crocheting is not just for old ladies! Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam, a Japanese fiber artist, noticed children jumping on one of her pieces of artwork and decided to take that concept to another level. Using her crocheting skills, she created a colorful, large-scale, play structure for children. See more of her incredible structures here.
#5 – Starlight
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Find joy this weekend.
This post is dedicated to the memory of Matthew Drag.
What about this? 
