In September, 2012, I began the first month of 21days2joy. I started with the subject of JOY itself. Here’s what I did to bring myself joy:
• Danced (wherever and however I wanted – mostly in the company of myself and Rick Springfield’s song ‘Jesse’s Girl’).
• Personal Art Retreat at Ananda Arthouse, Forget Sask. – I painted, slept, walked their dog, went to church and ate great food made with loving hands. It was a weekend of ‘Ananda’ or ‘perfect bliss’ in Hindu (I’ll call it JOY)!
• Breathed deeply (whenever I remembered to).
• Skipped (down the street).
• Delighted in the little things: hearing the baby cry at night (we had waited six years to adopt her, what’s not to enjoy about a wail you thought you’d never hear); baking a chocolate pie with my teenage son (after he ate the cherry pie that was destined for the community Fall Supper).
Conclusions I reached:
1/. Joy starts now – right now. You don’t have to wait for happier times, quieter surroundings, a lottery win or a tequila shot. It’s here, now …
2/. Joy is simple. The more I tried to define it, analyze it, complicate it, the more distant it became.
3/. Joy shows up when you look for it in the ordinary (it’s everywhere once you start ‘seeing’ it) – kinda like when you know someone is collecting salt & pepper shakers and you start seeing them EVERYWHERE.
4/. Joy is acceptance of what is, right now – even if a baby is crying or a teenager is pushing the boundaries.
5/. Joy attracts joy – suddenly, people were talking to me about joy, sharing their stories, telling me what makes them joyful, peaceful, happy.
6/. Joy is ALWAYS present, it just has to be recognized, noticed, embraced.