“What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes? Here lies the keys to your earthly pursuits.”
– Carl Jung
Joy! It is supposedly what the holiday season is about, but too often we get wrapped up in the to-do’s and the stress and don’t find ourselves as easily in moments of joy.
If we let our circumstances or outside forces dictate our joy, we will often find ourselves disappointed. It is up to cultivate joy from within, and bring it to each situation in our life. No one can do it for us.
If we take the seat of the observer and learn to not immediately react to every little moment in our lives, we become more mindful and perhaps even experience joy more easily.
I have mentioned this way of considering non-attachment before: If you were driving a fancy car on vacation, but spent your whole vacation time thinking about how bummed you were you don’t get to keep the fancy car forever, you would ruin all the time spent with the car and end up not enjoying it at all. It is the same with our relationships, belongings, jobs, everything. We don’t truly own anything except for our own experience, and even that we can not control. It is therefore in our best interests to take joy in what we have, without becoming possessive or anxious. The only way to do this is practice mindfulness – living in the moment.
We all have intuition and inklings about what will guide us closer to being more fully ourselves. These “hints” often show up in desires, and are found in things that bring us joy. We can choose to ignore these, of course, or might not even know they are there until we turn within and ask ourselves: “What food / clothing / people / situations / opportunities / experiences spark joy for me?”.
It is then up to us whether we follow our desires or not. Sometimes our ego tells us “Wait! Actually no I still should do ___ because ___.”, instead of following the intuitive hit. Listening to and then following intuition may seem like the harder option in the moment but in the end will bring us the most radiant joy.
Being true to your soul’s calling may feel hard at times. Walking the path not meant for your soul is hard. Choose your hard, and remember that ease and flow come when you walk your own path with patience, commitment, and inner work.
You are worthy of living a life full of the joy that comes from being in alignment.
I read a post recently that I can not find the initial source of, but it shared the sentiment: We don’t heal to be able to handle the trauma. We are already living with trauma. We heal to be able to handle the joy.
We have the option to live in alignment with our highest self right now. We have the option to step into our own power and potential in this very moment by acting as our highest self would, and creating intentional moments of joy.
In order to do this we must stop making excuses such as “I will be happy when ___. I will be fulfilled when ___ .” Wake up! If all we have is the present moment — the only chance we truly have to be fulfilled and joyful is in the right now.
Joy does not mean being happy all the time. It means finding the beauty, love, and purpose in being alive. Sometimes this is very hard to do. Sometimes all we can do is acknowledge that it is there whether we feel it or not, and be as present in the moment as possible. Joy will feel different every day, and that is okay.
Joy is a practice, just as so many parts of humanity are.
I find the quickest “hack” for joy (although there is no real “hack”!) is this:
- Step One: Become as present in the moment as you can. If the moment sucks, visualize your favorite place in nature.
- Step Two: Gratitude. You can even skip step one if needed and go straight to this. There is always, always, ALWAYS something to be grateful for. Feel gratitude and you will be on the fast track to feeling joy.
Ask Yourself:
- What brings me joy? What lights me up? Include small things, big things, everyday things and extraordinary things!
Action Step:
Create JOY in as many moments as you can today. Savor your cup of coffee. Hug your fur babies. Be silly. See how many little moments you can infuse joy into in just one day!
Resource: The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul Fun fact – this was the first self help book I ever read after the initial “Zen” book I got at Goodwill. It was one of the initial supports on my first steps into self-exploration and true spirituality.