What Brings you Joy?

What brings you joy? I mean specifically. I’m not looking a generic response like “my family, my pet, etc.” It could be a big thing like “flying solo in an airplane” (good for you), or something small like “extra whipped cream on my latte.” For me, it is the act of creating. I have many current creative pursuits and they’ve all been neglected lately. However, each one of them truly does bring me joy. I love to mosaic, make jewelry, write poetry, knock out essays, weave, take photos, and craft. It truly is within the act of creating, whatever it is, that I find joy. Even if I’m not pleased with the outcome of a project, I do enjoy articulating the initial “I wonder…” and seeing it through to a finished piece of art.

For you, is it practicing yoga, cooking from scratch, dancing, volunteering, or gardening? I’d love to know. I feel that joy is created, recognized, and nourished from within, from what YOU do. Another person (or lack of having a person) cannot be solely responsible for one’s joy or its absence, nor for one’s plight or station in life. If you live long enough, it’s inevitable that life is going to deliver your share of tough circumstances. Will you allow them to define you for the rest of your life? Or will you look for, and embrace small moments of joy and express gratitude that you still have the ability to find them, despite the fact that things are not currently going as well as you would like them to? (If you are dealing with chronic and debilitating pain, you are excused from this post. THAT circumstance makes it hard to find joy. Thankfully, I’ve only been in that state a handful of times during my life).

I do internally whine a bit when I can’t make the time to be creative, but I do make it a goal to substitute little moments for my joy fix. Sipping coffee on my front porch swing while my dog incessantly fetches brings me joy. (Ooops, pet joy was against the rules). Organizing clutter brings me joy. Marking things off my computerized spreadsheet TO DO list brings me joy. (Yes, one can be creative and a bit anal retentive all at once).  The fact that I am currently hacking away during these stolen moments on this keyboard brings me joy.

We are on the cusp of summer.  Whether you have exotic travel plans, plan to stay at home, or “summer” still means getting up early for a horrendous daily commute to a monotonous job you abhor, challenge yourself to look for little moments and create bigger moments to do the thing that makes you happy.

Have a great summer, and thanks for stopping by, (Judy)