Finding Joy

“We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.

Joseph Campbell”

So here it is. My first very post.

And it’s all about Joy.

Not because my own life is perfect. Or free from pain, difficulties or sorrow. But simply because, despite those things, I truly believe the only way forward, is to focus on the Joys in life.

And that is not always easy, for anyone. Especially with everything that is going on in the world today. When some days, just looking at your phone, can feel like a bombardment of grief, conflict, cruelty, and lack of compassion for our fellow humans.

And so to feel joy, can seem like you are blind to what is happening all around you and you don’t care.

But to quote Toi Derricotte, the African‑American poet,

“Joy is an act of resistance”.

Because Joy gives us energy. Joy brings us strength. Joy keeps us connected to our humanity.

The only way I have got through the most painful times of my life, was to focus on finding some joy in every day. No matter how small. No matter how brief.

Some days that joy has been as tiny as, I made a good cup of tea. Some days as brief as, a butterfly fluttering by me in a split second of colour and wonder. But there has always been joy, as long as I am willing to seek it.

And it’s funny that, the more I seek to find joy, the more joy finds me. And those moments build up. The more beauty I notice. The more kindness I see. The more love and gratitude I feel. The more mindful I am of every precious moment we get to be here.

So today, not despite how tough the last few months have been for me, but specifically because of that, I step into October ready to share the joy I find in every day.

In the hope that in sharing my joyful moments, more joy is created, that you may find more joy and share it too.

And that all those moments of joy build up and create a crescendo of joy, gratitude, kindness, and love.

To bring us all back to our humanity and create the world we want to live in.

Find joy and joy finds you.